small stones: a year of moments

some small stones today:

today I saved the life of a pocket-sized mouse -
he had twitching whiskers and trembled in my hand

The clean blue of the sky meets the striped blues of the water, where seagulls float like white corks. A woman in a navy blue sun-hat and a cherry swimsuit wades out towards the sail boats. The sea sings.

He answers the nurse's questions behind the hospital curtain. He’s John, lives in a hostel, doesn't have a partner. He has a brother but doesn't want him to see him like this. He doesn’t know his number anyway. His body is trying to get rid of something he's put inside it. He's been here before.

Sixty inch-long caterpillars clot around the tender nettle tips. Every second or so they jerk their jet-black furry bodies in unison.

A coffee-cream bag covered in pink daisies and filled to the brim with apples: small, sunlit, smelling of lemons.

You can read more about small stones and where to buy it at www.fionarobyn.com/smallstones.htm


I got the chance to put a few questions to Fiona Robyn, the author of small stones.

1. How do you identify yourself, personally and professionally?

I'm a woman, a writer, a partner, a therapist, a daughter, a friend, a gardener, a zen student, a reader (not in that order!), a seeker, a human being. I'm also none of those things.

2. Why do you write?

I write to try and get closer to things - the world, myself, the truth. And because I love the sounds of words.

3. What do you write about and why?

I write about whatever asks to be written about. For my novels this means a character appears in my head and starts taking on flesh. For my poetry it's 'ah, that's interesting'. For my small stones it's simply a widening of my eyes or a sharpening of my ears when they notice something properly.

4. Are you part of any writer’s groups?

I don't belong to any groups but I do have some good friends who are good writers and I swap my work with them. All writers need plenty of support.

5. What do you think of creativity?

I'm sure we all have the capacity for it if we give ourselves the right kind of time and space. I like the idea of simple creative acts - making blackcurrant jam, polishing the car, arranging a few flowers from the garden in a small glass vase.

6. Who or what is your biggest influence?

What, just one thing? That's impossible! I'm going to cheat and mention a few... Right now zen writing is giving me lots of food for thought. I loved John Peel as I was growing up - his refusal to choose a neat category for himself, his passion for what he did. The film-maker Mike Leigh. People who seem to get closer to what is real. If it had to be one thing, it would be books. All those glorious words!

Thank you to Fiona for being so generous in her replies. Good luck with the rest of your tour.
Now I'm off to Scotland for a few days. I promise to catch up on my return!