Business Of ... Vahni Capildeo

The University of York’s writer in residence, Vahni Capildeo, is a prize-winning poet, her anthology Measures of Expatriation, being named best poetry collection by the Forward Prize for Poetry. Vahni, gave us her insight into the impact of lockdown, and vocalised some concerns with the way we perceive the world in isolation. We spoke about privilege and how some people are only now aware of the loneliness, anxiety and isolation that others have experienced all their lives.

We started our interview by asking how Vahni was and how lockdown was affecting her work. She described a situation that was familiar for many, saying that she was “tired and miserable, fighting with the person she was in lockdown with”. A great number of readers will unfortunately be aware of the strain on relationships within lockdown, and the negative environment that can be caused within a confined household.

Capildeo said concisely, “I have been affected in three ways by lockdown, firstly I have seen my friendships grow stronger, especially with new friends I have met online [...], I am not getting as much work done. I am working on a laptop, away from my usual setup, with my keys 1 to 9 broken. The third way my work has been affected is that I am doing a lot more video calls and recording”. The reliance on technology has proved stressful for most, and even more so when people are displaced from their usual working space. Vahni’s struggle with technical issues and the push towards more online interaction, points towards both the upsides and downsides to modern life in quarantine. We have the means, for the most part, to communicate all over the world, if we are privileged enough to have the means of communication. Yet this reliance on technology means that when our devices break down or are out of reach, our sense of despondence and disconnection is elevated. Vahni said that people were “getting better at reaching out to a virtual community”, which is present due to the prominence of technology within society. Our very own poetry anthology has arisen from an online community and will be published online for a wider communal audience to access.

When asked about the perception of “quarantine themes” such as loneliness, isolation and anxiety, Vahni was quick to say that for her, these are not simply lockdown themes for her, and the suggestion that these ideas are exclusive to lockdown comes from a point of privilege. She mentioned her mother becoming disabled in 2007 and a 12 year abusive relationship with a fellow academic as cause for these feelings in her life. Crucially, we “should always have seen these themes in society” and that a “basic disconnection caused by privilege” is now a gap being bridged by the collective experience of quarantine.

The Trinidadian Scottish poet expressed concerns that the creative arts would be hindered by the time in lockdown. We asked whether writers would benefit or suffer from the time inside, and her immediate response was that the question should be “Will we get paid?”. With concerns over the economy and the impact on the private sector and academia, a lot of writers aren’t able to see their next pay cheque, and the usual perils of freelancing are magnified tenfold. Capildeo had fears that writers “dependent on travel and on presence, would really struggle. Creative arts may become peculiar overgrown hobbies”. The financial implications of lockdown are daunting, and Vahni stated either pessimistically or pragmatically, that writers face an uphill battle and the role of creative writing in society could change forever.

Motivation and stagnation appear not to be issues for Capildeo, who said assuredly “I have never been bored, it does not happen to me”. She told us that she had never struggled to be creative and that the only barrier she confessed to was “usually I don’t have time”. Vahni dismissed the idea that writers need stimuli and championed writers Antonio Gramsci and Natalia Ginzburg alongside the concept of “small attention”, the ability to entertain oneself even in the apparent absence of stimuli.

Finally, when questioned if poetry lent itself to spontaneity, and immediate creation, more than other literary forms, Capildeo warned that “Poetry is a wide word” and that within that word there are a number of contradictory formats that all require different amounts of time to produce. She did however agree that “ideas are reflective in our poetry” and that poems may represent a more instant generative process of creativity than longer literary forms such as the novel. Poetry is fluid and may be inspired by, but is not restricted to, world events. Vahni expressed a concern that society may become too intellectually focused on lockdown, and squander other areas for comment and expression.

To submit a poem for our anthology, or get more information about our project, please email: businessofbooksg6@gmail.com