Claire Smith

As a writer I work with speculative poetry. My subject matter is other worlds: myth, fairy tale, folklore, the supernatural, and history. My past work includes a siren inviting sailors for dinner, a fossilised forest, techno-witches, and an extension of the Red Riding-Hood fairytale from the wolf’s point of view.

Sometimes I draw on motifs, from my acute episodes of illness, and transform them into poems and prose. I take disturbing experiences and re-interpret them through the speculative genre.

I write as both a woman and as someone managing the attitudes of others towards my mental health. My main intention is to make my readers think about, and to challenge, their perspectives on normality: social conventions, stereotyping, and taboo around mental health.

I want to start conversations challenging everyday perceptions of the world. How much of our constructed reality do we share? Also, how much is our own mythologizing?

Audio Description

You can more of Claire's work by visiting her page from the Re Collections exhibition here.