Zi7ZpiJVl2
Former Director of Cúirt International Festival of Literature, Performing Arts Curator for the Bealtaine Festival, and Co-Director of Match in The Dark, Dani Gill is a multi-hyphanate who made her poetry debut with After Love back in 2017. This poetry collection was made into a dance/theatre production and premiered at the Galway International Arts Festival in 2021.
Her second poetry collection, Lessons in Kindness, explores identity, sexuality, strength and vulnerability, and will be officially launched in The Mick Lally Theatre on Sunday 2 April, where Dani will be interviewed by writer Edel Coffey.
Through a series of losses and epiphanies, the collection is about a young woman attempting to make sense of the lessons taught and learned. From the recent referenda in Ireland, to a landscape of women ghosts, Lessons in Kindness is a search for meaning and love, set against the backdrop of the wild Atlantic coast.
Here, we speak to Dani about her writing and reading habits, beloved books, and what went into creating this collection…
I don’t know if I knew it could be an occupation, but I was doing it from a young age and it felt natural to me.
Seeing the world around me and trying to make sense of it. I remember going into the garden to write when I was a child, around the age of 7 or 8. I used to keep stories and diaries on floppy discs as I got older. I seem to always have had an instinct to process things through words.
My poetry is based on my life so this book is that. It’s about identity, and the women in my life, how they have affected me and what I’ve learned from them. It bleeds out into the community and thinking about what lessons we learn from each other and how we are connected.
I’ve given writing a designated space (a studio) and I write every week. I always have a notebook with me as I go places, I record things I see, sometimes phrases I hear or encounters.
For me it is a feeling, it goes from there. I think we all have emotions but sometimes articulating them is hard. My journey in writing is to try to put words to what is difficult to say.
I learned a lot through writing this book about who I am now, versus who I’ve been. I see life as an opportunity to learn and evolve and for me that’s about accessing more honesty. Sometimes the things that bring us to that place are hard: grief, hurt, fear, but we can alchemise from those experiences and become stronger, clearer, motivated.
I need to wear shoes! Ideally canvas flats, I find it really hard to write in bare feet or slippers, I don’t why!
Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
Elaine Feeney, her work is so inspiring and authentic.
The Bloodaxe Being Alive, Staying Alive, and Being Human anthologies, they are a great way into poetry.
At Home in the World by Thich Nhat Hanh.
How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney.
Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender by David Hawkins.
Taking photos or doing something else artistic that is not writing like painting or making.
Not always but if I do it’s usually something folky and instrumental piano.
My studio! Having a separate space to do the creative work is just brilliant. When you’re not with your pages, the fact that they are living somewhere and not confined to a drawer or put away really seems to make the difference.
Something practical to identify flora and edibles…
Successful Tragedies by Priscila Uppal.
Number 9 Dream by David Mitchell.
“When a woman tells the truth she is creating the possibility for more truth around her.” — Adrienne Rich.
Sandgrain and Hourglass by Penelope Shuttle. It’s an amazing book about grief and love, she writes such powerful poems about losing her husband, it’s just so beautiful.
Surreal! It’s a mad feeling when you love books and see your own on a shelf. I am excited and nervous.
Lizard by Banana Yoshimoto because her imagination is so unique, I’d love to live in it and see what that perspective is like.
I‘m very social and I like Instagram a lot. Aside from that I try to be mindful of my screen time, time without internet is important to write.
I think covers are important. I chose a photo by Nicola Gunwhy for this book. It’s a skeletal hydrangea petal. I saw it on her Instagram feed, and it immediately connected with me and what I was writing about. When I saw that she had named it ‘Fragility’ I knew it was the right image for Lessons in Kindness. The book has a transparent dust jacket with the petal printed on it. I wanted this to heighten the themes of honesty and transparency in the work.
I actually find a bit of procrastination useful. Sometimes it’s good to do a mundane task and let yourself empty. The process of creating needs space. We are too regimented in life, everything is scheduled, a little dilly dallying can be beneficial.
Give yourself permission.
Busy! Many coloured notebooks, pens, paint, seaweed drying experiments, resin moulds, pops of orange in the furnishings (it’s my favourite colour) and the essentials always stocked — Barry’s Tea, Freddos.
Probably Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka, he was living the life of an adult without the usual rules, loved fun, made strong fashion choices and wasn’t afraid of a little danger.
Headshot image by Laura Sheeran.
’Lessons in Kindness’ by Dani Gill is available in all good book shops from Sunday 2 April, and can be online via the Salmon Poetry website for just €12.