Nadia comes from a family of writers and publishers. She was determined not to follow in their footsteps but inevitably ended up studying English, which she loved more than any other subject.

In our conversation Nadia shares the themes that interest her most in her poetry and nonfiction. One of those themes is motherhood, but a stronger area of interest is the idea of healing trauma through narrative. She describes her themes as exploring “waking up”. We discuss whether it can be used to heal trauma with a big T or a small t.

Another theme that interests Nadia is environmental healing. Our relationship with the natural world has turned violent and is not respectful. Nadia would love to see a spiritual revolution, of which literature would be apart. We debate whether literature itself can change the world.

Nadia tells me about the Life and Times of her first collection, The High Shelf. She put together the draft 15 years before it was published and she explains its route to publication. It was a finalist for more than 20 first books competitions, but never quite making it to the final. 

This leads us to talk about the intricacies of the publishing world, particularly that of poetry and literary fiction. It's not necessarily about the quality of the work, there is a degree of who you know! 

Ultimately, Nadia encourages you not to give up. Writing is a long game, so keep going.

We finish our conversation with Nadia telling me how meditation and yoga influences her writing practise and has even changed the way she intuits the words. A fascinating process and one that feels, certainly to an outsider, easy and fluid. I'm sure she would disagree!

On her website Nadia has a number of free meditations you can download to explore whether meditation can help you bring out your best words. 

Connect with Nadia:

Online Creative Writing Coach in Boston | Writing Classes | Nadia Colburn

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