I Was Not Meant to Break – Profile of a Poet by Julie Wassmer

Whitstable author Julie Wassmer interviews ‘I Was Not Meant to Break’ Herne Bay poet Maggie Johnson. 

 

Having cerebral palsy, 24-year-old Maggie Johnson is unable to work full-time but she volunteers once a week at her local Demelza book shop in Herne Bay, and in May this year she published her first poetry book I Was Not Meant to Break.

After reading this extraordinary collection of poems which is now also available in the U.S, Germany, Finland, and Norway, I was keen to interview Maggie and to find out more about her work.

 

Congratulations on publishing your first collection of poems. When did you begin writing poetry and what inspired you to do so in the first place?  

I’ve been writing since I was about 10 years old. Mum and Dad encouraged me by giving me a notebook that I could write in. They also suggested that my sister and I should each keep a diary on a holiday to Florida. I still have that and it is full of memories. I studied poetry in secondary school and found that I could express myself better in poetry than in prose.

I was studying Personal & Social Education (PSE) and doing the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award at the time and my teacher, Mr Wade, read my work and loved it and encouraged me to continue writing. He was the first person to appreciate my work who wasn’t a family member, so that made me proud. He put my piece forward and I was awarded the certificate for perseverance.

After leaving school I started volunteering at the Demelza bookshop where I became friends with Joanna, another volunteer. Joanna encouraged me to attend a writing course in Herne Bay which I did for seven months but in the end I had to leave. I got the impression that other members of the group found my CP frustrating, which fuelled the anxiety and depression from which I also suffer. After explaining this to Joanna, she encouraged me to continue writing and took me to another local group she was attending – the Tuesday Morning Group.

 

Writing is a very solitary activity but you mentioned that you still belong to your local writing group. Can you tell me a little more about it and whether being a member has helped you with your writing?   

The other members of the Tuesday Morning Writing Group are older ladies who are very encouraging about my work. It’s the first time I’ve been anywhere with other people where I can express myself and be told that I am good. When we were holding meetings on Zoom I would email everyone a copy of my work in case they couldn’t understand me, but I was always encouraged to read it out. A lot of the exercises and homework is prose rather than poetry but it’s OK with everyone if I want to do it in poetry form instead, but I do give a lot of the prose exercises a go as it’s good experience for me.

 

Has your cerebral palsy presented any problems for you in your writing or general ambitions? 

Because of my CP, my muscles are weak and so I find writing with a pen or pencil hard work and it takes me a long time. I do use a laptop which is easier, but I try to do longhand because it is good exercise for my hands. Because it takes me a long time to write, it makes me think more.

I have lots of ideas in my head but I often find it difficult to get things down on paper and when the associated anxiety or depression get worse, I find that I get writer’s block which can last for days.

 

Do you have any favourite poets or poems? 

I prefer the contemporary poets and a couple of my favourites are Rupi Kaur and Courtney Peppernell. I see my thoughts like a film and had intended to write a series of short stories but I couldn’t get on as a ‘chapter’ author and when I was asking one of the assistants in Waterstones for ideas on who to read, she suggested Sarah Crossan and it was her style that inspired the way I wrote my book.

 

And finally, Maggie, are you writing more poetry and if so, when might we expect to see your next volume? 

Yes. I’m at the ideas stage at the moment but it will be about friends and people in my life. Thank you for reading my book. It’s nice to know that a fellow author likes it.

 

I Was Not Meant to Break is published by AuthorHouse and available at bookshops and Amazon.

Julie Wassmer is the author of The Whitstable Pearl Mystery novels. Read CommunityAd’s interview with Julie here.