INTERVIEW
Liminal space: An interview with Maggie Hamilton Maggie Hamilton’s latest book When We Become Strangers has come at a time when the questions it poses are at a critical juncture, due to COVID-19 and the state of culture in 2021. Maggie was due to appear at the cancelled 2021 Byron Writers Festival; here she discusses her new work and looks back on her career.
Can you give an overview of how the initial idea for When We Become Strangers took root in your mind, and the questions you were trying to answer? I wanted to get to the heart of what I saw as a growing sense of estrangement. People talking and judging more, listening less. An intolerance of difference. Our young reporting a growing, biting loneliness. Escalating competition amongst friends. The deadening impact of influencers. Overly curated lives, that leave little room for spontaneity, creativity, fresh ideas. The unkindness, if not downright cruelty, of much of reality TV, encouraging us to judge others as winners or losers, rather than as individuals, each with a contribution, a story to tell.
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How has your writing life been affected by COVID-19? I love liminal space. It’s where I get my best ideas – where I’m most able to sift through possibilities. So, lockdown, for me, was the ultimate liminal space. That said, I know how hard lockdown has been for many. Writing for me, even on days when the words don’t flow, is the chance to deep dive into my own private world. When I can do this, I’m more able to engage with others, even if only on Zoom right now. Connection is essential – it feeds our thoughts, our heart, our soul. Can you comment on the potential role of literature and the arts in combatting loneliness? Loneliness, I feel, is a lack of connection to ourselves as well as others. The arts, including books,
lift us out of this space. They offer us the chance to immerse ourselves in ‘otherness’ – in worlds that are sometimes similar, sometimes very different from our own. These experiences build insight, and with insight, hopefully, we can create powerful bridges to the world around us. The arts, at their best, stretch us, help broaden our view, embrace difference and grow our humanity. They feed our curiosity, our passion for living, for exploring, celebrating and understanding the other in all its manifestations. Writing itself can be a lonely activity and existence. How can writers maintain connection with others to ward off isolation and loneliness? Writing is about the subtleties of seeing and hearing, about making sense of our world. I love the quiet
