Karen Downs-Barton
I am very pleased to introduce April's showcased writer, Karen Downs-Barton. I met Karen in the Open University Write Club group, and have followed her career since with interest. Her writing in sensitive and subtle, and well worth a read.
Biography
Karen Downs-Barton is a working-class Anglo-Romani writer specialising in poetry, travel writing and memoir. Her first book, Didicoy, based on her experiences of growing up as part of a single parent household and in state childcare, won the International Book and Pamphlet Competition in 2022 and was a Poetry Book Society recommendation. Her collection, Minx, has been acquired by Penguin Random House for Chatto and Windus and was published in March 2025.
Karen has travelled throughout the country but is currently based in Wiltshire with her partner where she balances her love of the countryside and foraging with travelling to London, Bristol, and cities far-and-wide on ‘research trips’ that often include cocktails… a peccadillo from her youth that has never left her. She can be tempted to go far to sample a bartender’s alchemy, especially if it comes in glasses shrouded in smoke or with an abundance of vegetation teetering at its lip.
Karen has had a variety of seemingly unrelated careers
including a magician’s assistant, dancer, iPhone app developer, and DJ
specialising in salsa, tango, and belly dance music. More recently, she has completed
a PhD in Creative Writing at King’s College, London and is a creative writing
tutor in schools, for King’s College London, Creative Future, Wiltshire Young
Artists and the Shakespeare and Race Festival. Karen won the Cosmo
Davenport-Hines award in 2022, was long listed for the Ivan Juritz prize in
2023, highly commended in the AUB International Poetry Prize 2024 and is an
alumni of Ledbury’s Voice Coaching programme. Karen is widely
anthologised and has appeared
in Tears in the Fence; The High Window; Rattle; Ink, Sweat and Tears; and The North amongst
others.
Her present to herself post the publication of Minx will be a campervan that she intends to use as a portable writing den that she can also travel to gigs in.
Links
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After a long walk, Karen and her partner like a hearty breakfast at the City Farm Cafe, Bristol.
Karen has sent us several of her wonderful poems [below] with comments to explain their inspiration. Enjoy!
"I love epistolary poems and this is one from a sequence that addresses the gaps in collective family memories, the sort we share with siblings, like this one for my sister Faye."
Dear Faye,
ask me
about the
day we were caught stealing
in auntie
Barbara’s dining room
her posh
flat on Streatham Hill
ask me
about our
guilt
as
horrified faces peered under
the lace
edged tablecloth
and saw an
open box
of dog
biscuits
between us
ask me
about the
bone shapes
that smelt
of Farley’s Rusks
arranged
in coloured rows
on paper
doilies
the pinks
were a disappointment
like blown
rose
petals
the blacks
etched our teeth and tastebuds
with the
grit of fire grate
ash
"Confronting the dark subjects, family secrets, was challenging but it part of making space for underrepresented narratives alongside those more often found on bookshelves."
The
Dough Bed
The
morning after a night-time caller
Mum would pay the rent
and
put cash in the leccy meter.
She’d
buy crusty rolls
from
the corner shop
and
fill the flat with the yeasty warmth
of
just-baked bread.
Divvying
them between us,
she’d
cut each cob, showering flakes,
then
slather them in butter.
Sitting
with a quart of prawns before her,
Mum
would peel their chitin skins
like
translucent baby toenails,
suck
clustered orange eggs
from
their abdomens,
shuck
their bearded heads
to
sip their brains
of
salty thoughts,
then
tuck their naked bodies
into
the beds of our waiting rolls:
saline,
sweet, and yielding.
"This form is called an Immured Sonnet and was invented by Philip Nikolayev. My adaptation was to make the trapped sonnet and the text imprisoning it read as two separate texts and then combine. It was my way of representing how we are affected by our pasts."
"The poem below was one of the ekphrastic poems that was fed by a visit to a gallery followed by research. Its original form drew from the poem Portrait, by Audre Lorde"
Rossetti’s Beloved Costume Jewels
voiceless women
feel the weight
of a hand-me-down heart
I must chain mine at my throat
while Rossetti paints
twisted suhaki with cabochon
green ventricle rose atrium
restless in his closed composition
I broke the golden triangle
of women not like me unclipped
its bijoux choke to wear
the Gypsy talisman
of a bat’s left eye and screech
my way home
And finally we come to The Big
Interview, in which Karen kindly
answers writing-related
questions and lets us into
some of her writing secrets...
1. How old were you when you first knew you wanted to be
a writer, and what set you off down that journey?
That’s
an interesting question as the notion of people like me – a girl from a family
existing below the poverty line, in-and-out of state childcare, from a
diasporic community – becoming anything like a writer seemed too ridiculous an
idea to even hope for. But I certainly remember reading avidly and writing
everything from Blues song lyrics to what we’d now know as fanzines from an
early age. I wish I’d been able to keep some of that early writing. At the time
it puzzled me why various schools called me ‘lazy’ about the niceties of
spelling etc. but then commented about how I threw myself into the creative
side of lessons. Of course, dyslexia wasn’t understood in those days, and
moving from one school to another in quick succession didn’t help either.
2. Tell us about the books and writers that have shaped
your life and your writing career.
Oh,
how long have you got? Books were my life, my safe place, my window into
different worlds. My earliest loves were Dickenson’s Changes Trilogy,
Joan Aitken, Ursula Le Guin, C.S. Lewis, Nicholas Fisk’s Trillions… oh
so many more! Alongside these I was reading Greek mythology, Collette, Sagan,
George Elliot, Dickens, and classics like North and South. I think my tastes
were more varied in those days. I’ve spent so much time over the past five+
years specializing in reading poetry that I’m almost envious of that younger
me. My all-time poetry favourites have to include Sarah Howe, Ruth Padel,
Pascale Petit, Liz Berry, Sarah Wimbush, and I remember the absolute poetry
revelation of discovering Edwin Morgan waaaay back. I wanted to be able to find
this fantastic person and climb inside his mind for a while. He was like an
explosion of what I thought poetic form could be.
3. Have your children, other family members, friends or
teachers inspired any of your writing? In what way?
Absolutely.
My unconventional family and the people we encountered has inspired what went
on to be my MA manuscript, now first collection, and is at the core of the
second book in the trilogy. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have experienced
strange environments – been a magician’s assistant, been in-and-out of state
childcare, had Romani family – that offers a quirky lens on society. I can
remember a junior school teacher telling me that one day I’d write a book and
he'd read it. I wish I knew his name so I could tell him how much that meant to
me. The first two names from my list of writers whose poetry I love – Sarah
Howe and Ruth Padel – later became my PhD supervisors and they were wonderful.
They never said ‘you can’t do that’ or ‘that’s too out there’ about my idea;,
they listened, encouraged, offered guidance and ultimately pushed me to have
faith in myself. That’s the sort of educational experience I think everyone
should have.
4. Does the place you live have any impact on your writing?
That’s
a sore question. Having had a bit of a pickle of a start in life I find it hard
to foster a sense of belonging in any geography. I try, but it doesn’t work for
me. In fact, the plants I own are all in pots – bar an ancient apple tree that
I am the custodian of and inherited when I moved to a quarryman’s cottage in
Wiltshire. I often find that I need to move away from my home, back on the
road, or to retreats, to get anything substantial completed. I used to think
that would change but I’ve finally admitted to myself that I just can’t put
down roots… and we’re back to the potted plants!
Out and about in London's atmospheric back streets
5. How would you describe your own writing?
I’m
most known for poetry and especially memoir-in-poetry that uses experimental
form and plays with language. That sounds a bit academic, but the poetry itself
is anything but. The hope is that people will feel the poems are accessible, be
intrigued by their narratives, and then find they’ve painlessly absorbed a form
or language they might want to use in their own poetry.
6. Are there certain themes that draw you to them when
you are writing?
The
themes that currently attract me are those emanating from untold histories,
usually female histories. Yes, focusing a lens on the margins of society draws
me in and inspires my writing.
7. Tell us about how you approach your writing. Are you a planner or a pantser?
This
is an interesting question as I’ve been in academia for so long, a decade, and
I don’t know what the post-study me is going to be like yet. I think the PhD,
especially preparing for the viva panel at the end, has shown me that I like
deadlines. Even editing my collection, Minx, seemed to work better when there
was a mad deadline that seemed impossible. Perhaps everything will get flabby
now I don’t have that discipline. Now there’s a scary thought!
Karen giving a reading at The Social,
Soho, for Chatto & Windus, Penguin Books
8. Do you have any advice for someone who might be
thinking about starting to write creatively?
Yes,
READ. It isn’t new, and it isn’t sexy, but it’s true. To be a good writer takes
good reading. If they aren’t sure what’s good, any poetry writer can’t go wrong
with reading what’s in the Forward prize anthology and absolutely get your
hands on any of Ruth Padel’s books about reading poetry. 52 Ways of Looking
at a Poem, The Poem and the Journey are quite simply unbeatable.
When you can understand a poem, why it works, oh what secrets that knowledge
unfolds to the writer of poetry.
9. Are you, or have you been in the past, a member of any writing groups, online or face-to-face?
I’ve
been involved in poetry groups in the recent past, both informal online groups,
organized ones associated with The Poetry School and at Arvon retreats. I value
them immensely. When you find a good one it’s possible to forge friendships
with likeminded people which is so important for writers. Our work tends to be
solitary so its incredibly sustaining to have a community to feel part of.
10. Have you ever studied creative writing at university or any other courses?
When I took my first creative writing module it was because I had to. It was a component of my second year with the Open University. I’m so glad it was compulsory as I knew I was dyslexic and would have avoided it given the opportunity. That encounter changed my whole degree journey that ended in a doctorate, teaching for King’s College London, at the Globe Theatre for their Shakespeare and Race festival, and for Creative Future. Although I think the teaching side of things is an important part of giving back and helping the next potential writer with their journey, it also gives me the chance to share my passion for creative writing and has helped me articulate some of the more esoteric parts of my work in a way that is understandable to non-writers, a skill my partner is relieved I’ve developed (yes, I’m laughing wryly).
11. What do you think about getting feedback on your work from other writers and/or non-writers?
I value the opinions of both writing and non-writing friends. If they don’t understand something or feel that an element isn’t hitting the right note it can alert me to where there is work to be done. That’s invaluable! I’m not saying I always take advice - often, in groups, it may be contradictory - but it’s stress-testing a short story or poem with real people and that has to be a good thing.
12. If you have experience of self-publishing, what have been its challenges and rewards?
I
haven’t personally experienced self-publishing and I know there are different
opinions within the publishing community toward it. Some of the old-fashioned
snootiness about it has disappeared, thankfully. However, I started an online
magazine when I was at the Open University and that was masses of work but good
fun. If you were to ask me if I would publish my own work in a magazine I was
running now, I’d probably say ‘no’ but for no other reason than I wouldn’t have
that other eye on it that not being your own editor gives you. Now ask me if I
published my poems in that magazine while I was at the OU and I’ll tell you
that I did indeed include at least one. How fickle am I? Or perhaps my attitude
has just changed over time.
13. Where do you get
your ideas from?
Many
of my ideas appear to be from looking back at my own history and that is of
course true but behind that is a lot of research. For instance, one poem in
what will become book 2 looked at my experience of trying to find positive
representational images of Romani women at Tate Britain. This led to
investigating a specific painting, its painter, the poetry he also wrote, the
form he preferred, how my own story mirrored the history of the model he used,
which in turn inspired me to morph his original poetic and poetic forms to
create a new form reflecting those interconnected histories. So, really, my
ideas come from going down rabbit holes and creating havoc.
Enjoying the scene on a local
footpath
14. They say that successful writers need to be selfish. How far do you agree with this?
I
agree and I don’t. There have been times when I knew I should concentrate on
work and would lose opportunities if I didn’t, but I chose to have a family so
that family comes first. However, I’m lucky that I get lots of ideas in the
middle of the night when everyone else is asleep or when I’m away from home so
it’s still possible to get things done without letting anyone down. I have a
wonderful mini table that can be raised to different levels and angles for
different types of devices and I can whip this out from behind the sofa when
there’s peace enough to write. I’ve even been known to take a squishy laptop
tray in the car and write while I waited to pick people up from their trumpet
practice.
15. Beyond your family and your writing, what other things do you do?
I’m a bit of a film buff and I can’t tell you how excited I was to find that a cinema close to me in Marlborough has a ‘silver screen’ that consists of the latest films, screened in the morning once a week with coffee and a patisserie included in the ticket price. (I’m laughing at myself here, but I was beyond excited to be slurping away watching the Dylan movie in a plush seat.) I’m also a devotee of the National Trust and ardent forager – though I draw the line at mushrooms. Now that I’m no longer studying, I intend to return to drawing with pastels. It’ll be a case of starting from scratch as a recent portrait resembled something more demonic than I’d intended. However, I love art as part of my practice – through ekphrasis – and visiting galleries in general and kept that side of life very active throughout my life.
16. Are you interested in history and, if so, does it impact on your writing?
I
think writers need to stay in touch with the world in all its myriad guises,
historical, geographical, contemporary, low and high culture, be alive to
everything. I’ve written using biblical references right through to using
tattooing slang – being alive to the possibilities is part of what fascinates
me about writing. It’s that marrying of the introspective with turning the gaze
outward.
18. How did the Covid
pandemic affect you as a writer?
The
personal downsides of Covid included not being able to access research material
for about a year except online which isn’t quite the same, missing family
during the most stringent lockdown period, and losing family and friends on
Covid wards. I try to look for any positive(s), or at least amelioration
factors for that time. These might include having the opportunity to spend more
time with my partner who was working from home. We walked in the wild places,
shared an appreciation of foraging which we’d never done together, he put up
with kitchen tops covered in bell jars and demi Johns of fermenting and
distilling items and we made the decision that he would retire early. It took
the death of a close friend to generate that but neither of us regret the
decision… Well, I do if he hangs up the washing in a way that gives my tops a
third boob or I can’t find a space that isn’t walked through or talked through
at an inconvenient moment. But that’s true of most relationships I imagine.
The line Karen draws in her foraging... NO FUNGUS
19. There is a lot of talk at the moment. in the publishing world and elsewhere, about political correctness, the Woke movement, cultural appropriation, ‘cancel culture’, ‘trigger warnings’, sensitivity readers and the importance of diversity. What are your thoughts on this, with regard to writing?
I think
it's right that we’re sensitive to the harm that can be done to others through
inconsiderate behaviour. I remember a friend sending me footage of a ‘joke’
Jimmy Carr made suggesting Hitler should have been praised for his treatment of
Roma and Sinti – or in his words ‘Gypsy’ – people. It was horrendous. I was in
a train on my way home from uni and felt sick to my stomach. I’m half Romani.
His audience laughed, clapped, cheered. It’s something I can’t forget. A
trigger warning might have been appropriate and I certainly would have preferred if if that sort of hate speech had been cancelled.
20. Where would you place your own writing, on a continuum with PURE FANTASY at one end and COMPLETE REALISM at the other?
Now
that’s an interesting question. Although my subjects often veer toward the
realistic end of the spectrum, the use of metaphor and simile take that subject
matter into a more surreal realm. It’s the fusion of the real and fantastical
that opens opportunities for seeing things in new ways that I enjoy. Twice my
work has been compared with Angela Carter’s Nights at the Circus and
that almost burlesque, baroque side of magic realism, which is a form of
fantasy, I find rather appealing. If I wanted total realism I don’t know where
I’d look… certainly not in the press these days. Ahem, slightly political
there.
21. Do you have any particular health or other issue that affects your writing and if so how have you overcome this?
I’m wonderfully dyslexic and have fibromyalgia, both of which can be a thorn in my ability to write. However, I can’t complain as I think I manage both with varying degrees of success and they’re part of who I am so when things go a little pear shaped – usually through dyslexic tendencies – I try to find the amusing side of it.
Thank you very much, Karen, for such an entertaining and fascinating showcase.
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In May, I will be showcasing
another fabulous writer:
Pavitra Menon
Not to be missed!
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So far in this series, I’ve showcased the following writers:
Ruth Loten – March 2023
Jane Langan – March 2023
Beck Collett – April 2023
Ron Hardwick – June 2023
L.N.Hunter – July 2023
Katherine Blessan – August 2023
Jill Saudek – September 2023
Colin Johnson – October 2023
Sue Davnall – November 2023
Alain Li Wan Po – December 2023
Lily Lawson – January 2024
Philip Badger – February 2024
Glen Lee – March 2024
DHL Hewa - April 2024
Tonia Trainer - May 2024
Mike Poyzer – June 2024
Judith Worham - July 2024
Chrissie Poulter - August 2024
Adele Sullivan - September 2024
Lin De Laszlo - October 2024
Wendy Heydorn - November 2024
Elisabeth Basford - December 2024
Karen Honnor - January 2025
Sharon Henderson - February 2025
Gae Stenson - March 2026 [collaboration]
Dr Trefor Stockwell - March 2025 [collaboration]
Karen Downs-Barton
[27 so far]
You can find all these showcases by scrolling back through the material on this blog.
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