Poet Interview – Vidya Math – Time Machine

On The Table Read Magazine, “the best arts and entertainment magazine UK“, Vidya Math takes us behind the scenes of her creative journey, sharing the deep emotional vulnerabilities that shaped her diverse new collection, Time Machine – Poetry Book.

Written by JJ Barnes

www.jjbarnes.co.uk

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Cambridge-based author Vidya Math about her artistic journey and her deeply personal new collection, Time Machine – Poetry Book. In this interview, Vidya takes me behind the scenes of her creative process—discussing everything from the pandemic rediscovery that launched her publishing career to the unique challenges of compiling verse versus fantasy fiction. Grounded, whimsical, and fiercely protective of her mission to help the world through her words, Vidya offers a refreshing look at what happens when you let the creative mood strike.

Tell me a bit about who you are.

My name is Vidya Math, and I am an author. I was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and now live in Cambridge, England.

As a child, I absolutely loved books and poetry. Escaping to adventures in books was amazing, and savouring e.g. Shakespeare’s poetry was wonderful.

When did you first WANT to write poetry?

I was first inspired to write poetry as a child. We were encouraged to do this at school, and I remember writing a poem about Autumn:

When did you take a step to start writing poetry?

I remember writing the following poem as a child around 7 years of age:

‘Autumn leaves fall

From trees elegant and tall

A golden-brown carpet

Covers the ground

Making a soft, rustling sound.’

How long did it take you to complete your first book from the first idea to release?

My first published book took 14 years to complete from first idea to release. This is mainly because it was written as a birthday present. After I gave it to the recipient, I put a hand-bound copy of it in my bookshelf, and did not really think about it again until the pandemic hit. As we had to stay indoors a lot during the pandemic, I decided to clear out my study and came across the book again then. I started reading it (12 years after it was written) and was so taken by it (as a reader) that I asked the person whose birthday present it was if the book should be published; she was very enthusiastic about this, telling me it is her favourite book. The book is called The Book of Stamps.

What were your biggest challenges with writing your book?

For my first book,I had not intended to write a book – I had only intended to write a short story, but it turned into a book. I wasn’t prepared for the time investment. I wouldn’t say it was a challenge as such at the time, as the book flowed seamlessly; but I remember thinking, after I finished writing it, that I couldn’t start the sequel straight away because I was now aware of what the time investment could be. Writing a book can take over a person’s life – in a good way 😊

For my most recent book, one of the challenges was finding all the poems I have written in the past. I was convinced they were in a particular ring binder, but many of the poems I recall are not in this ring binder at all. The lamentable thing is, I have no idea where many of those poems are. So, I wrote some new poems for the book and in doing that, some really great ones were written and have been included in the book. Another challenge (which is new to me) is how to sort poems into a book. As I normally write fiction/ fantasy books, which are fairly large and on one topic, compiling a poetry book was a new experience.

Writing a fiction/fantasy book means you generally have one overall heading and then chapter headings, with the text spaced to fit the page. But poetry is different, so I had to think about how and where I thought each poem should sit on the page. For example, I wanted to give each poem its own single page. Some of the poems are very long, so it was a challenge to fit them on one page, and I opted to change the font size for them.

If I find the poems from the past that have not been rediscovered yet, I will publish another poetry book – as a prequel to this new book 😊

Do you keep to a theme with your poems, or just go where the mood strikes?

With poetry, it can be any topic, and the poems in my new poetry book, Time Machine, are very diverse.

What is your favourite poem in your book about, and what inspired it?

I love all the poems in the book, but I do have a surprising favourite; surprising, in that I had no idea I would feel that way until I finished compiling the book: it is called The Fox-Swan.

I adore wildlife, and the poem is not only full of humour, it is also incredibly touching and unexpected – and fun. After reading it, I always want to read it again, and I always feel excited if I’m going to read it. This particular poem was inspired by my deep love of swans – their cute, enchanting personalities – and conversations I had been having with my sister at the time about tiny fox cubs that were in her garden. The delightful personalities of wildlife are what led to this poem being written.

Many of the other poems in the book are also very close to my heart, and I love reading them. Some are fun, some are meaningful, some talk about life as we know it, and some carry you away to a dreamland.

Does music help you write or is it a distraction?

I never listen to music intentionally when I am writing. If I am writing in a cafe, there may be music in the background, but usually, I don’t find it distracting; if my concentration is on what I am writing, I don’t hear the music really – unless it’s really bad music 😀

Did you get support with editing, and how much editing did your book need?

For the poetry book, I did not get any help with editing. All books seem to need a surprising amount of editing.

One thing some authors worry about is how much they might disclose about themselves in their works. This is not normally a worry for me, as I usually write fantasy books or fiction books. However, my poems tend to stem from emotions, so I found (unexpectedly) that I ended up slightly editing one of the poems for this reason. Perhaps I was not brave enough to leave the poem as it was, or perhaps the original poem was not the exact fit for the type of poetry book I was aiming for.

I also edited one of the other poems because it was written so long ago that things have changed by now in the world, and I felt it best to update the poem. As the book is called Time Machine and is made up of poems written across different decades, I had to think carefully about doing this; editing pieces of writing written long ago in the past might not be the right thing to do if the author wishes the writing to be representative of the time it was written in. However, times sometimes change far for the better, so – to not corrupt positive evolution of ourselves and the world around us – I changed a word in one of the poems such that it is more in keeping with good things that are happening in the world now.

What is the first piece of writing advice you would give to anyone inspired to write poetry?

I would say, stay close to your heart when writing poetry.

Can you give me a hint about any further books you’re planning to write?

Many books want to come. Some, I have started, and others have pushed in front (for one reason or another) – this can happen often. Once I ended up finishing a planned book and an unexpected book on the same day, and both won awards. Maybe it’s synchronistic when books decide to compete for the author’s time. These two books are called The Book of Gems and The Luminosity of Energy.

 It’s looking like the next book will be a magical realism/ fantasy book, where the characters are living a normal life, but a lot of magic infiltrates. It is an exciting book and very heartfelt. I am sure readers will be moved to tears for more than one reason when they read this book; my guess is that readers will relate to the characters, empathise with them and share their journey with raised heartbeats 😊

And, finally, are you proud of your accomplishment? Was it worth the effort?

I am proud of the accomplishment: ‘Time Machine – Poetry Book’ is a book that is metaphorically small enough to fit in your heart and big enough to take you across the decades to many feelings, surroundings and situations. It is also a book that talks to you like your best friend, or your partner, or your sibling. So, you know you have someone with you who is on your side when you have this book with you.

You will notice that the fonts in the book are unexpected and that the cover and spacing are also unexpected. This is a daring move and reflects the unexpected nature of events that happen as time progresses. Being different to who we were in the past is ok. Living in a world that is different to the past is ok 😊

Writing is a time-intensive hobby, so any book certainly feels like a big win. I write books to help people, animals, birds, creatures and the environment; if any of my books do this, they are 100% worth the effort.

Pop all your book, website and social media links here so the readers can find you:

Waterstones UK: https://www.waterstones.com/author/vidya-math/6089969

Kindle: https://amzn.to/4uZVi6Z

Paperback: https://amzn.to/4xR7qcS