Freshly signed by independent publisher Lemon Jelly Press CIC, with a collection of children’s poetry coming out this month, Whitley Bay author Rob Walton spoke to Karen Ruffles about his thoughts on childhood, the importance of representation and using humour to inspire others.
Your new collection, ‘Little Things and Big Things’, is about the moments that shape a child’s life. Was there a key moment in your own childhood that inspired this book?
When I was seven, I sailed solo from Silica Sands in Scunthorpe (try saying that quickly after a pint of Dandelion & Burdock) to the pier at Cleethorpes. I took the wrong map, so most of this involved pushing a yacht overground. I returned – in remarkably good spirits and with a long grey beard – just before my tenth birthday. Apart from that, I don’t think there was one particular moment, rather a cumulation of things. I grew up in a loving, secure working-class family on a council estate in Scunthorpe. I was the youngest of four children, and our parents worked hard to provide us with opportunities that had been denied to them. One inspiration would be to see myself, or people like me, represented in books.
There will be many parents reading this interview. Do you have a message for them? How can they help their children navigate those pivotal moments?
I would never presume to have any answers or messages about anything! If I have any thoughts around this, I’d say that getting out of the house works for me, whether it’s a walk, run, bike ride, whatever. Writing and arts and crafts activities obviously also help a lot of people, whether they produce things to be shared or not. I’m a great believer in celebrating children’s successes. In order to do that, you need to recognise what success is for the individual child. One size really doesn’t fit all. I discovered this when seven-year-old me was pushing a yacht, wearing my dad’s trousers.
Do you think it’s easier to engage a younger audience with poetry than adults? Do they respond differently?
Yes and no. Younger children don’t have the hang-ups about poetry that older people have. Adults turn to poetry at ‘significant’ times concerning major life events or emotional upheaval, but often aren’t overtly aware of it – or that they like it. How poetry is taught in schools is crucial. Many teachers champion it and use it on a daily basis, but there are still some who are unsure about it. Thankfully, there have been many recent initiatives from the Poetry Society and others to promote it in a fresh and exciting way. I think humour can be a great way into poetry for both children and adults.
Can you name a book that helped you through a challenging time?
I couldn’t name a specific book, but rather the act of reading as a whole. I’ve always loved immersing myself in the lives of others, whether it’s in a poem, a short story, a novel or staring into people’s lit-up living rooms on an autumn night before they’ve closed the curtains. I’m not sure I ever saw myself in the books I read as a child. Representation has improved in many ways, but it’s also often been two steps forward, one step back. Of course, reading encourages empathy, and in one sense, you might be able to see yourself in characters who, on the surface at least, lead very different lives from your own.
You were a teacher in Newcastle for many years and now live in Whitley Bay. Do you feel your time in the North East has influenced your writing?
I think having daily contact with children and their hopes, fears, jokes and aspirations has influenced my writing more than any specific geography. Having said that, every time I go for a run along the seafront, drive down the Coast Road or walk to my local, there’s a very good chance an idea will pop into my head. If I look back, I can see that, without perhaps being conscious of it, I’ve actually written quite a few things which are firmly set in the North East.
‘Little Things and Big Things’ will be published by Lemon Jelly Press later this month.
