Search This Blog

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Breeding and Brighting

The blog We Who Are About To Die has a great new interview with poet Mary Biddinger, and the title of the interview is "We who are about to breed." So guess what Daniel Nester talks with Biddinger about? That tricky combination of writing and parenting.

Here are a few excerpts:

How has your writing changed since becoming a parent?
"Now I treat writing like it’s something illicit, not another mundane item on my to-do list. This has been a huge help for my writing. Instead of putting it in the category that includes student recommendation letters and laundry, I let it be more like a secret addiction, or a hot, turbulent affair. I write when I’m not supposed to be writing. I do it on the sly."

How do you balance your time between parenting and writing?
" ....My trick has been to set boundaries between things, and to do my best to prevent overlap. If my kid is home vomiting, I won’t bring him to class with me while I teach. If my colleague needs non-emergency advice during my daughter’s softball game, it will have to wait. I designate work time, and home time. I do not answer my work email on the weekends. It took a while to establish these boundaries, but now they’re solid."

Check out the whole interview for advice on what baby equipment a writer needs, and which items no one needs. Great positive attitude (that's where the "brighting" in the silly title comes from) and sensible advice from poet Mary Biddinger.

No comments: