WEM Interviews Hannah Blanton
Derby based writer and poet, Hannah Blanton has released her debut poetry collection on early motherhood, Somewhere Between.
Earlier in June, social media star and mum of two, Hannah Blanton released her highly anticipated book Somewhere Between on Amazon, reaching number 7 bestseller in the Motherhood category and remained number 1 bestselling poetry anthology during the week of its release. Featuring poems that have gone viral online, such as ‘A Reminder for my Mum Guilt’ and ‘What I Wanted to Say at my Eight-Week Check Up’, this collection of 43 poems showcases both the wonder and struggle of early motherhood.
From the boredom of pelvic floor exercises to the unspoken grief of a traumatic birth, this book navigates the complex, life-altering transition into motherhood and is creating a buzz among her 40,000 followers on social media. Writing East Midlands caught up with Hannah following her amazing success.
Congratulations on the release of your debut poetry collection, Somewhere Between, tell us more about the book?
Thank you! My book is a collection of 43 poems on the topic of early motherhood. After I had my second baby last year, I turned to writing as a way to process my emotions and capture the highs and lows of this season of life. I’ve always enjoyed creative writing (I’m one of those people who has a half-finished novel gathering dust from years ago and dozens of short stories and poems saved haphazardly on my laptop somewhere), but in the past year I’ve felt a renewed sense of creativity and begun writing a lot more. Becoming a mother has been the biggest inspiration for my writing. It’s such a huge life transition that is as hard as it is beautiful, so my collection offers a pretty unfiltered view into the reality of early motherhood.
Tell us more about your experience with self-publishing your collection, how was it for you?
There is so much that goes into self-publishing a book. Writing the manuscript is one thing, but then there is all the formatting, cover design, research and behind the scenes work to figure out too, which in my case took far longer than the “writing the book” part. It has been a lot of work, but it’s also been a labour of love, and I’m so pleased that I persevered and accomplished it. It’s the best feeling seeing other people buy and enjoy my book, and I would definitely do it again.
Tell us about your creative community in Derby and online, how do they inspire you and keep you focused when writing?
How has it been writing this collection and balancing life as a mum of two? What advice would you give to other writers with children?
It has been a lot! But it has also been really nice having something to focus my mind and energy on that’s primarily for me (even if my poems are still mostly all about my children!). I could never have fathomed taking on a project like this as a first-time mum, but ironically, even though I have less time now I have two, I have also found that I have a bit more creative capacity. It’s been a long process, as I have had to fit everything into whatever tiny pockets of time I could find – after bedtime, during naptime, even the short window while my husband is doing bathtime.
I think the best advice I could give is to try to make peace with the fact that creativity will look very different in this season. You will likely be constantly interrupted, have more ideas than time to work on them, make very slow progress and often simply be too tired to work on your writing, and that is okay. One of the reasons I like poetry is because it’s a creative outlet that you don’t need any equipment or space for – you can just think of lines on the go and jot them down quickly to come back to later. Our children may be a big distraction at times, but they are also a great source of inspiration.
ABOUT HANNAH BLANTON
Hannah Blanton is a writer, poet, mum of two and accidental social media poet. Using writing to process emotions, experiences and the general chaos of motherhood, Hannah has created an online community where other mums can share in their experiences and feel seen and understood.
Her poems have since been shared around the world and have featured in various training materials, podcasts, radio shows, events, artworks and probably more awesome and surprising places that she can’t remember right now because she’s a sleep-deprived mum.
Purchase your copy of ‘Somewhere Between’
Follow Hannah’s work:
Website | hannahblanton.co.uk
Instagram | @hannahblantonpoet
