An Interview with Gwen Tuinman // Jack Dempster

Gwen Tuinman is a novelist fascinated by yesteryear and the landscape of human tenacity. Her fiction work has been published in The Renaissance Anthology, Wunderlit Magazine, and online at The Litter I See Project. Her nonfiction work appears online at Conversations on Dying, and the award-winning The English History Fiction Author. Gwen is the creator of The Wild Nellies, a collective of diverse women creatives who spread the healing power of creative self-expression and raise funds for charities that support women escaping domestic abuse. She is also the co-creator of Poetry and Spoken Word Quarterly Readings and Performances, hosted in Oshawa, Ontario. Gwen’s novel, The Last Hoffman, is set for release in spring 2020. 

Jack Dempster: Gwen, you are a very social and gregarious woman of letters, heavily involved in your local literary scene. In a previous email to me, you mentioned that you are “captivated by how synchronicity feeds creativity, and also by talking [to] people who create—especially in genres different from [your] own. It's interesting to see the differences and overlap between processes and what inspires.” Would you elaborate on this?

Gwen Tuinman: As a new writer, I worriedly viewed creativity as a glass of water, a finite resource that once consumed was forever gone. But really, the more you drink, the faster the glass refills itself. Part of that magic is in being curious about the world and actively acquiring new life experiences and information to fire up your pen. Over time, I’ve learned to trust the role of synchronicity in this process. Much like Field of Dreams, if you build it, they will come—they being unexpected gifts that find you at just the right moment. It might be an expert in the field you are researching. When I began researching the 1830s lumber era, I visited a local museum and met a seventy-year-old neighbour who’d worked in timber camps, hauling timber from the woods using horse teams. What are the odds? As a Christmas gift one year, my husband build a Little Free Library for our front yard. A few weeks after I committed to writing more poetry, someone miraculously donated books by Walt Whitman, Dylan Thomas, and Richard Outram. We become a magnet for who and what we need if we remain open to what the universe sends our way. Synchronicity is a firefly we snatch from thin air. Talking about creativity with people working outside of my discipline enriches my writing. Poets teach me how to create evocative imagery using economy of language. A spoken word poet I know considers each line, and opens the places that hurt; I apply this to writing memoir essays. The visual storytelling of filmmaker friends runs parallel to fiction writing; we zoom in to convey intense feeling through specificity. Every detail captured in a frame or a word must communicate something to the audience. A singer-songwriter shared that instead of thinking about what note comes next as she composes, she closes her eyes and remembers the song she hasn’t written yet; I owe moments in recently written chapters to that strategy. Visual artists incorporate negative space to direct the viewers gaze across the canvas; similarly, writers can build white space into poetry or prose. A riveting portrait provides a great study of show don’t tell. Most recently, an opera singer recently introduced me to the term chiaroscuro—the balance of brilliant sound against dark timbre. I’m reflecting on the application of that in a writing practice.

JD: What most excites you about the modern world of literature, here in Southern Ontario or beyond?

GT: It’s exciting to see local writers breaking into the traditional publishing arena or electing to swath their own path to publication and what that entails. The diverse means by which they make their work known—locally, nationally and abroad—is inspiring. Tracy Kasaboski and Kristen den Hartog traditionally published The Cowkeeper’s Wish in tandem with an elegant blog featuring elements of research relevant to the book. Suzanna Kearsley is a New York Times bestselling author of traditionally published historical romance. Cryssa Bazos and Tom Taylor—both award winning authors—experienced success as traditionally published authors in the UK and are independently published in their home countries. Local authors are regularly being shortlisted for writing prizes, such as poet and novelist Renee Sgroi, who is currently shortlisted for Guernica Prize for 2019. This is by no means an exhaustive list.Equally exciting is when I witness a writer's dedication to excellence in their craft. Spoken word poet Britta Badour and poet Shannon Webb Campbell, both nationally acclaimed, have begun master's programs this fall. It’s exciting to live in an art form that inspires expansion and evolution.

JD: You have two literary projects coming out. Would you speak a little about these two projects?

GT: I've recently published a short book entitled We Are Enough: A Story of Vanquishing Self-Doubt. In this work, I share my life experiences during and after more than a decade of domestic abuse and revelations that restored my belief in myself. I offer insight into the downward spiral of self-doubt and the healing promise of resilience. It’s a book that’s beneficial to anyone who’s endured—or who loves someone who’s endured—the all too common experience of domestic abuse.In early 2020, I’ll release my literary fiction The Last Hoffman—a tale of sacrifice, betrayal and desolation rooted in a floundering paper mill town where an awkward widower and a young mother band together to overcome their tragic pasts. The story spans 1953 to 1982 and visits prevalent attitudes toward mental health and environmental stewardship.Proceeds from all of my writing funds The Wild Nellies, an initiative I’ll speak more on later.

JD: Are there any classic or contemporary writers who have been inspiring you lately?

GT: My go-to authors are ones whose work wraps around me like warm blanket. If a story immerses me so deeply in another world that I stop reading with the critical eye of a writer, I’m a huge fan. I enjoy Louise Erdrich’s novels, the way she peels back the layers of history to explain a character's “dysfunction.” Joseph Boyden and Richard Wagamese appeal to me for the same reason. The experience of reading their work is akin to being carried forward on a river’s current. With powerful but everyday language, they tell stories that leave me thinking about the characters and narratives each time I close the book. Shannon Webb-Campbell’s poetry has the same effect on me. For writing that dives into characters’ inner worlds, I turn to Margaret Atwood novels. She helps us inhabit her characters' minds and bodies from front cover to back. I admire her writing immensely—but what writer doesn’t? 

JD: As I understand, Gwen, you run occasional workshops rooted in researching one’s Irish ancestry. Have your Irish roots or the culture of Ireland influenced your art in any ways?

GT: The Irish are a resilient people whose history is fraught with oppression and struggle—fertile ground to explore the rise and fall of characters mired in social restrictions. I learned a bit of oral history about my Irish ancestors who came to Bytown in the 1830s during the timber trade. Following a shanty fire, the family sheltered overnight in a barn. My fourth great grandfather cradled his ill wife’s head on his lap and poured whiskey on her lips. “Martha, don’t leave me,” he said. That phrase has been the impetus for a short story that has grown into my current novel in progress. 

JD: To wrap things up, let’s bring it back to your social literary life. You are hosting not one but two events in Durham. Would you speak a little about both of your poetry nights as well as the Wild Nellies event?

GT: Poet Elise Kubsch and I founded Poetry and Spoken Word Quarterly Readings and Performances, hosted in Oshawa, Ontario. We invite a dozen poets to read or perform their work for our growing audience. In December, we’ll be celebrating the event's first anniversary. It’s been a great year of diverse theme and style from across Durham Region, Northumberland and Toronto. Poets and poetry lovers are invited to like us on Facebook and watch for calls for submissions for future events. The second project is The Wild Nellies, of which I am the creator. The Wild Nellies is a collective of women creatives—diverse in age, culture and art practice. Among us are musicians, singer-songwriters, actresses, theatre directors, dancers, choreographers, poets, spoken word poets, writers, visual artists, photographers and filmmakers. We all share a passion for the healing power of creative self-expression which we spread to women struggling to find their voice. We gather for large events at which we perform, speak about our sheroes (women who’ve impacted our lives), and exhibit our work. The Wild Nellies events raise awareness and funds for local charities that support women fleeing domestic abuse. We also host meet-ups specifically for women creatives. We welcome all womxn and nonbinary creatives. At our first three events, we raised $10 000. We’ve performed on the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation and twice at The Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa. Our upcoming Wild Nellies Celebration of Women on the theatre stage in Whitby’s Centennial Building garnered the support of a Town of Whitby Performing Arts Community Development Fund.