Spotlight On Writers
Sarah Das Gupta
- Where do you originate from?
I was born in Surrey, a county in the South-East of England.
- What do you cherish most about the place you call home?
I love the North Downs where I spent my childhood. It is mainly an area of green downland in Southern England. I like the pretty villages which often retain old cottages and village greens. This is mainly a place of green pasture used for sheep farming. Many well known figures from politics and history have lived in the area, including General Wolfe who defeated the French on the Heights of Abraham and took Quebec. In the same period the Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger, had a country retreat in the downland. Sir Winston Churchill, whose mother was American, lived in Kent and was PM in World War II. The famous Regency novelist, Jane Austen, wrote about this part of the country in ‘Emma‘. There are beautiful Medieval country churches, including St Leonard’s at Chelsham. Here is the grave of the local man who inspired the story of Dick Whittington…I spent much of my childhood riding over the downs with my dapple grey pony called Nicholas Nickleby!
- What ignites your creativity?
I have a good memory for places and can visualise scenes in great detail. I have always been interested in wild plants and flowers many of which have intriguing folk names such as ‘Granny’s toenails’ or Bird’s Foot Trefoil. I write about the countryside and folk tales. These have led to an interest in ghosts and the supernatural. In fact my daughter’s house in Essex, which dates back to the 14th century, is definitely haunted. I have heard footsteps upstairs moving about at night! I read History at London University and the Middle Ages is a fascinating period. I have written stories of castles, knights, and werewolves. I was a teacher of English in India and Tanzania and those places have inspired much of my work. After sixty years of teaching Literature, I now find writing challenging and compelling.
- Do you have a favorite word and could you incorporate it into a poetic phrase?
My favourite word is Twilight which is a very evocative word. It can be romantic, pictures of a late summer evening, lovers strolling in green water meadows. Yet it can be mysterious, even sinister, as darkness falls and that other world awakes. I like collecting pictures, especially of Nineteenth-century landscapes as twilight creeps across the fields. In ‘Macbeth‘ Shakespeare captures the atmosphere as Macbeth watches twilight fall ‘Light thickens and the crow makes wing to the rooky wood.‘
Here are a few lines which I wrote which try to capture this atmosphere:
‘Twilight strangles the last crimson streaks in the western sky,
Flickering will ‘o-the wisps haunt the darkening salt marshes’
- What is your pet peeve?
There are many things in the modern world which annoy me. One is the power of mobile phones. Many people seem to be addicted to word that is spoken. The kids are all on their mobiles. Computer games are similarly addictive. As a teacher, you have an uphill task when the majority of the class can’t remember a single book they have read. They will only remember the television or cinema version they may have seen.
- How would you describe the essence of Sarah Das Gupta?
Defining my own personality is difficult. As a teacher, I have spent time analysing students. Firstly, I am basically a serious person. I enjoy discussions and arguments about politics, social issues; literature, the Arts in general. I regret my very limited knowledge of Physics. I find astronomy interesting but it is hard to understand in depth without mathematics. I am definitely interested in animals, particularly horses. All equestrian sports, specially horse racing I enjoy. In fact most sports are exciting to watch, except football. I think this is because in UK many men’s conversations relate almost entirely to their favourite football teams. I lived in India, married to a Bengali journalist, for many years. I have written extensively about my experiences and visits to amazing places there. One of my favourites is the hill station of Darjeeling and the tea gardens against the backdrop of the great Himalayas. I find once I am involved in writing, I can continue for most of the day; At the moment my major aim is to collect my poems into a chapbook.
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