Writing Coercive Control Episode 5: poet Kim Moore

Coercive control is endemic and therefore it must be cultural. If
1 in 2 women experience coercive control, it’s in our homes in
childhood. How does this affect us? And how do we talk—and
write—about it? This 6-part live-recorded, interactive talk
series will inspire writers and readers to explore literature
about coercive control in wider contexts, including state
control, parent/child relationships, historical control, and
control in industry and workplace. Guest authors Sahar Delijani,
Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, Winnie M Li, Chimene Suleyman, Kim Moore,
and Carla Jenkins, meet with host, author Abigail Tarttelin, to
discuss their experiences writing coercive control.


In this episode, poet Kim Moore discusses writing her own lived
experiences of coercive control and domestic violence into poetry
and creative non-fiction in her works IF WE COULD SPEAK LIKE
WOLVES, THE ART OF FALLING, ALL THE MEN I NEVER MARRIED, and ARE
YOU JUDGING ME YET? POETRY AND EVERYDAY SEXISM.


Kim Moore’s pamphlet If We Could Speak Like Wolves was a winner
in the 2011 Poetry Business Pamphlet Competition. Her first
collection The Art of Falling(Seren 2015), which includes a
quietly devastating sequence following a woman embroiled in a
relationship marked by coercion and violence, won the Geoffrey
Faber Memorial Prize. Her second collection All The Men I Never
Married (Seren, 2021), in which 48 numbered poems take us through
a gallery of exes and significant others where we encounter rage,
pain, guilt, and love, won the 2022 Forward Prize for Best
Collection. Her first non-fiction book What The Trumpet Taught Me
was published by Smith/Doorstop in May 2022. She is a Lecturer in
Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University.A hybrid
book of lyric essays and poetry Are You Judging Me Yet? Poetry
and Everyday Sexism was published by Seren in March 2023. Essays
tackle subjects that range from heckling at poetry readings,
problems with the male gaze and explorations of what the female
gaze might look like in poetry and discussions about complicity,
guilt and objectification, the slipperiness of the word sexism
and whether poetry can be part of transformational change.


With host Abigail, Kim speaks about the importance of
meaning-making, the fragmented nature of poetry paralleling the
fragmented nature of traumatic memory, forms including bricolage
and multiple choice in ARE YOU JUDGING ME YET?, the writing of
her two poetry collections, incidences of sexism in performing
her poetry, legal and safety considerations in publishing work
based on her own lived experience, the circular nature of memory,
writing, and experience, and how it feels to look back on her
poems now.


Also, host Abigail reads two poems from her own work-in-progress
novel, ORDINARY WOMAN TURNS 30, an autofiction novel about a
woman dealing with the aftermath of coercive control in an
intimate partner relationship as she approaches her 30th
birthday.


Follow Kim on https://Instagram.com/kim_moore_poet 


Follow Kim and friend, poet Clare Shaw, on Substack at
http://kimmoore30.substack.com


Kim’s works are available now to purchase or order through all
good bookstores.


Follow Abigail as she writes her novel on Substack at
http://abigailtarttelin.Substack.com 


Send your questions and comments for the podcast to Abigail’s
https://Instagram.com/abigailtarttelin_


Abigail’s novels FLICK, DEAD GIRLS, and GOLDEN BOY are available
now to purchase or order through all good bookstores.


This podcast is co-produced by Abigail and Clear Lines Festival.
Clear Lines started in 2015 as the UK's first festival addressing
sexual assault and consent through the arts and discussion. Since
then, their events have continued to promote a survivor-centered
dialogue that emphasizes creativity, community, and artistic
self-expression. You can check out their website with videos of
past events at:


https://clearlines.org.uk/


And sign up to their newsletter to learn about upcoming events
through their network:


https://clearlines.org.uk/contact-us/


They also offer a free downloadable creative writing guide for
survivors of sexual violence and abuse:


https://clearlines.org.uk/our-free-creative-writing-guide-for-survivors-available-here/


This podcast is supported by Arts Council England.


Get full access to Abigail Tarttelin at
www.abigailtarttelin.com/subscribe