Natalie: I agree that ‘The Murmurings’ has an element of grotesqueness, which I tried to convey through descriptive lines like “lice are feeding. They are carnivorous” to show the extent of the “poison” that is “biting away at my life”.
The poem intends to create a dangerous image of a threat living within the body, which the reader could determine as being a physical entity or even a psychiatric illness making the nameless character’s existence “dark. So dark.”
The verse suggests that even the character herself is mystified by “what this thing is”, perhaps because the face “She” is “alive” is so overwhelming.
The final stanza describes the impact of “She…beginning to hatch” as the narrator is finally broken and destined to “shatter forever” leaving only “the pieces of me”. The final line, “misted snow drifts over the remains” is intended to be emotive and melancholy, symbolising a death by association to the season Winter.
GS&NS: You mentioned two sources of inspiration for you: Sylvia Plath and Louise Gluck. What do you admire or enjoy about their work?
Natalie: Sylvia Plath’s poetry and life story have been a great source of inspiration to me, particularly in my teenage years when I first discovered her work, whilst Louise Gluck is a more recent source of creativity for my writing.
I am currently reading ‘First Born’ by Louise Gluck, a book that I would definitely recommend. I love the merciless, stinging tone that Gluck adopts in her writing, particularly in the poem ‘First Born’: “What now? You miss my care? …Today my meatman turns his trained knife / On veal, your favourite. I pay with my life”. Gluck’s poems have a harsh beauty.
There is much beauty, as well as sadness, to be found in Plath’s poetry. My favourite poem by Sylvia Plath is ‘Edge’, written close to her death. The devastating finality of the evocative lines: “petals / Of a rose close when the garden / Stiffens and odours bleed/ From the sweet, deep throats of the night flower”, I find incredible.
GS&NS: What advice would you give to emerging writers?
Natalie: I think the most important consideration when writing is to write about what you really enjoy – your enthusiasm will shine through in words.
It is important to find your own writing style, which can happen naturally or by inspiration from favourite writers. Understanding that your writing will always evolve and change is important.
Evolution: An Anthology