Rebecca Zeman, who some 26ers may know as Rebecca Dowman, talks to Jill Hopper about the publication of her first poetry collection, Preloved, out now from Grey Hen Press.
There’s a wonderful photograph on the front of your collection, Preloved, of a row of Regency dresses pegged on a line. What’s the story behind it?
I took that photo when a friend and I visited Chawton Cottage, Jane Austen’s house. They had lots of clothes from the period that you could dress up in. We came upon this washing line where some of the clothes were hanging up to dry; I thought it was so lovely. It felt appropriate for the title Preloved, which is partly about things that have been used before.
How did that crystallise as a theme for the book?
I didn’t start out thinking I’d call the collection Preloved and then write poems about that. It was after I’d written the poems that I looked and saw there was a common theme in many of them about getting a different perspective by looking at old things, be they objects or memories. Things we’ve lost and found – so for example, vintage objects like books with the original owner’s name in them, or people we’ve lost either through bereavement or because they’ve gone.
How did you go about getting them published?
I’ve been writing these for over three years. The earliest ones were written during the MA in Creative Writing (Poetry), which I did at the University of East Anglia between 2022-23. After I finished that I kept on writing, but it can be really hard to get a pamphlet and certainly a collection published. Last year I saw an advert for a poetry competition where the winners would be published in pamphlet form. The publisher, Grey Hen Press, is a very small publisher that is very keen on giving older women a voice and only publishes women over 60. As I am both a woman and over 60, it seemed like a great opportunity.
How does it feel to have been chosen?
Amazing! I think it’s easy to believe that you can’t start new things when you’re older. Going to do a Master’s in Poetry when I was in my late fifties, and pretty much the oldest person in my year, was terrifying, but I made some lovely friends among the young women on the course. And then to get published completely unexpectedly at the age of 61 is extraordinary.
Were you the sort of child who had poetry books on your shelf at home?
It was a working-class family and the main reading material in the house was the local paper, the Southend Evening Echo, which funnily enough I worked on later on, and my mum’s Woman’s Weekly. But I was a member of the local library, and a very introverted child, so I would read all the time, mainly fiction rather than poetry. Then I did an English degree at Cambridge, where it was a complete privilege to get a full grant and effectively get paid to just read books.
Can you remember when you wrote your first poem?
Among my late mum’s possessions there was a letter from BBC Listen with Mother thanking me for sending in a poem, and saying, ‘Poor mouse being trodden on by an elephant!’ I must have been about six. After I left school, I never wrote any more poems, and I’ve got to give full credit to 26 and to Dark Angels for getting me back into it. Taking part in the 26 projects meant that every few months I was writing a poem and that was a real joy. And then I started doing it more seriously during lockdown, via an online Dark Angels course run by John Simmons and the artist Jenni Wallace. That led to evening classes at City Lit and then to applying for the MA. Quite a few of the poems I’ve written with 26/Dark Angels are in Preloved, including two that were collaborations with printmakers: the late Norman Ackroyd and, just recently, Jason Hicklin.
Why is poetry so important to you and what do you feel it gives you?
When I write, it slows and clarifies my thoughts. Also, the process of writing things down and then seeing the finished piece helps me feel closer to the experience. It’s almost like, in recording it, I feel it more. There’s a poem in the collection called Fantasy Teatime, where I’m imagining having tea with my late mum. I write about what we talk about and how I would stroke her arm and be happy to be with her. The last line is, ‘I always knew I’d see you again’. Now, having that poem, I feel I am seeing her again in some strange way. And that’s been really a wonderful thing.
What are your plans for the book?
I’m having a launch in London on Friday 22 May at the University Women’s Club. It’s in their exquisite library, which is painted in vibrant turquoise and has huge windows overlooking Hyde Park. I’d love it if some 26ers wanted to attend, so the first ten people to email me (address below) will be very welcome.
You can buy copies of Preloved for £4 each, directly from the publisher at www.greyhenpress.com/hen-run/ or by emailing Rebecca at rebecca.dowman@contentconsulting.co.uk
Rebecca’s tips
- Join a writing group where you can share and discuss your work. Some UEA friends and I have an online workshop every three months. I also write with a local friend one morning each month and share what we’ve written after (a nice) lunch.
- Submit individual poems to poetry magazines. The National Poetry Library hosts a great list: www.southbankcentre.co.uk/venues/national-poetry-library/write-publish/magazines.
- Apart from Grey Hen, other publishers offering pamphlet publication as a competition prize include Dithering Chaps, Live Canon, Magma, Mslexia, Poetry London and Vole Books.