#23 Lottie Walker, writer
'I’m a big believer in writing – physically writing on a page'
Lottie Walker is a writer from Somerset currently based in Cambridge (UK). She is a graduate of Literary and Cultural Analysis from the University of Amsterdam and is currently pursuing her MA in Creative Writing at the University of Cambridge. Lottie takes a creative and critical approach toward Queer Ecology and the concept of Paradise to investigate our relationship with the environment. Her eco-critical approach moves through interdisciplinary ways of thinking about the more-than-human and her forthcoming work of creative non-fiction Underground will explore the gardens along London’s Piccadilly Line. She has been published by NEA Magazine and The Cambridge Review of Books and is one-half of the poetry podcast Beetroot, which aims to broaden literary discussion through live and virtual events.
Where do you write?
It depends on the time of day. If I make the early hours, I’ll waste no time and go to my desk, conveniently positioned at the end of my bed. Usually, I’m keen to carpe diem and leave the house, so I’ll go to the University Library, which has this amazing very serious reading room, it’s hard to avoid writing in there with books staring you in the face. Late night, I’m usually at the kitchen table after dinner’s been cleared and the flatmates are in bed.
Morning writer or late-night words?
I think my sweet spot is between 2-7 PM.
Coffee, tea, or any other drinks?
Absolutely coffee; I work at the coffee house around the corner from the library, so I’m never far from an affordable and delicious oat milk latte. If I’m at home, it’s usually a pot of very smoky tea.
Handwritten notes or phone files?
A mixture between the two, I’m a big believer in writing – physically writing on a page, every day, even if that’s just a to-do list. If I’m out and about, I’ve got a small pocket notebook which came in handy for long commutes when I lived in London. Now I live in Cambridge, I cycle everywhere and if I have an idea on my bike, I’ll instruct Siri to make a note of it through my headphones.
Something to nibble while you write?
Toast. Usually with raspberry jam or anchovies.
What's your most tempting distraction?
Test kitchen videos, household chores, dating apps?
Any desk essentials?
I like having a plant nearby for company and probably some visual stimulants for the project I’m working on. A comfy chair; my posture is just awful.
What's on the speakers?
Film soundtracks in their manifold genres. Right now, I’ve really been enjoying Inside Out, The Chronicles of Narnia, How to Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda 2. I can’t write to anything with words.
Writer uniform?
A comfy jumper, loose-fitting trousers or a skirt – the warmest socks possible. Whatever it is, it’s ironed within an inch of its life.
What are your pre-writing rituals?
I like to read before I write – it gives me the space to breathe in before I breathe out. I’d opt to read something similar in the same genre that I’m currently writing. Although sometimes I’ll read something so good and think what’s the point? I’ll never write anything that good. That’s also okay, though.
Perfect bookshop to hide on a rainy day?
I adore the Lighthouse Bookshop in Edinburgh (Scotland). I’m usually only there around the time of the Fringe Festival with my dear friend Marta who I run a poetry podcast with. We could just sit in what used to be the poetry corner (which is now an entire poetry wall!) for hours.
What's your most treasured book?
I have a copy of W.B Yeats’ Selected Poems that everyone in my class was given when I was doing A-Level English and it is covered in neon annotations and highlighter. Weirdly, that same year we also studied Sylvia Plath’s Ariel, which I annotated in very modest pencil.
What is the best word in the English language?
Pickle. You can be in one and you can eat one.
Three writers (dead or alive) to have dinner with:
Miranda July, Olivia Laing and Derek Jarman.