with Faye Alexandra Rose:
Q1: When did you start writing and first influences?
Faye: I only started to write in 2017 after a traumatic incident and writing became my outlet. I wrote continuously in my journal, and it unconsciously appeared as poetry and from then on, I haven’t stopped! The first poet I ever really took interest in was Carol Ann Duffy – her work didn’t need translation or any prior knowledge to poetry, her work just spoke to me.
Q2: Who are your biggest influences today?
Faye: I love emerging contemporary poets. I am hugely influenced by small press’s releases as they tend to publish raw and more open to tackling taboo subjects.
Q3: Where did you grow up and how did that influence your writing?
Faye: I grew up in the midlands, UK in a relatively small town. I guess you could say that is where my writing career began, but I can’t say it really inspired my work as I write more about personal experiences rather than specific places.
Q4: Have any travels away from home influence your work?
Faye: I’ve been lucky enough to travel a lot during my life, and I would say it’s massively influenced my work. Travelling allowed me to immerse myself in other cultures and gain more life experiences, which I believe is so important to writing.
Q5: Any pivotal moment when you knew you wanted to be a writer?
Faye: T/W: Growing up I was never focused on one specific career or lifestyle, I had no idea what I wanted to be, or where I wanted to live. After being raped in 2017 and going through the police system I was completely lost and the only outlet that gave me purpose was writing. After this period of my life, it became apparent that this is what I wanted to pursue, and it’s grown from strength to strength ever since.
Q6: Favorite activities to relax?
Faye: I am an avid mountain biker and climber. If I can’t be found with a pen in my hand, I am either climbing walls or in a forest somewhere trying not to fall off my bike!
Q7: Any recent or forthcoming projects that you’d like to promote?
Faye:
My debut poetry collection PNEUMA is due to be released in August this year with Sunday Mornings at the River.
It is centred around experimentation and breathwork within poetry – extending beyond the biological process and carries the emotional context through non-verbal utterances and paralinguistics.
To know more about the collection and release please follow:
@FayeAlexandraR1 on Twitter and @fayealexandrarose on Instagram.
Q8: What is a favorite line/stanza from a poem of yours or others?
Faye:
My favourite line I’ve written is probably from my poem ‘We Adapt, We Overcome’:
“We rip layers from our skin and store them in our attics,
as time passes our bodies shed old cobwebs
to reveal spring florals upon our wallpaper.”
Q9: Who has helped you most with writing?
Faye: Personally, my mum and brother have encouraged my writing journey from the beginning, and I cannot thank them enough. Technically, I’d say my university lecturers Dr Jack McGowan and Ruth Stacey who made me believe in my work and always strived to make me the best writer I possibly could be.
Poetry: Dear, he who must not be named (T/W) by Faye Alexandra Rose
Wolfpack Contributor Bio: Faye Alexandra Rose
Bio: Faye Alexandra Rose is a UK based writer studying English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Worcester. Her work has been published in several online magazines such as; Mookychick, The Drabble and the online project Poetry & Covid. She is also a Poetry Editor for small leaf press – a magazine dedicated to giving a voice to undiscovered writers. She can be found on Twitter: @FayeAlexandraR1, or via her website: fayealexandrarose.wordpress.com
Fevers of the Mind 