Interview by Zoë Brigley
I never consciously use repetition in my work, but I have noticed I have started to use this technique a little more in recent poems. The muse has chosen it, it seems!
The fridge
The fridge put his tongue in my mouth at a party when I was twelve years old. The fridge exposed himself to me at the same party. The fridge asked whether he could touch my breasts in the living room in front of the Blessed Virgin statue. The fridge followed me to University. The fridge has hidden furry parts. The fridge takes himself seriously. I think the fridge is bipolar. The fridge trapped my fingers in the door when I said this. I don’t know whether to counsel the fridge, pray for the fridge, or throw him away. When I was drunk and depressed I told the fridge my secrets. Somebody told me a damaged fridge can release dangerous CFCs into the atmosphere. The fridge once called me twenty-nine times in a row. I suspect the fridge is broken.
Something that I admired about this poem was the way that it seemed to speak to cultures around toxic masculinity, yet the fridge as central character creates a surreal twist, and certainly for me, I found it less triggering than if it had been a human being. Where did this idea come from?
I think the metaphorical use of the fridge came because the thing that always strikes me when I come into contact with a toxic male energy is the coldness. The aloof strength that towers. Also, for me, the image of an empty fridge conjures a staleness. Empty vessels make most sound. Sometimes they don’t smell great either. I envisaged one of those huge fridges that are taller than most people. There is something sad and dangerous about an abandoned fridge.
The repetition in this poem suggests looking at the subject from different angles. Do you use repetition a lot in your poems?
I never consciously use repetition in my work, but I have noticed I have started to use this technique a little more in recent poems. The muse has chosen it, it seems! It brings emphasis in ‘The Fridge’ poem and I feel it adds to the eerie, persistent quality of this unpleasant de-humanised character.
In a way, there is a kind of humour about the fridge – a deflation of its power through the fridge image. Is this play with power dynamics something that you do intentionally in your work or is it more intuitive?
My work tends to be intuitive initially and then in the crafting of the poem, I may use a variety of techniques. Humour is most definitely at the heart of many of my poems – even the really grim ones. Life is both tragedy and comedy. In my writing I try to see the funny side of this huge cosmic joke! I love to include a comedic twist to my work to offset an often serious undertone.