Q&A with Em Readman
“We find it easier to joke about what could happen than what has. It was beautiful, it was loveless, it was nothing new.”
~ Belligerence, Benevolence by Em Readman
The title of your creative nonfiction piece Belligerence, Benevolence evokes both hostility and kindness. Can you tell us about the inspiration for your piece and how these themes play out within it?
When I was thinking about how to respond to the theme of unsung, my main thought was the idea of things left unsaid. There have been key moments in my life where I have had to end a relationship or a chapter in my life without being able to give it the closure I wanted. In these situation, I’ve had two main options: accept it within myself and find a space of benevolence or remain hostile. I know it’s a flaw of mine but there are some things I am not ready to forgive just yet, which is what I wanted to talk about.
Your piece is structured in seven parts, each a short, emotionally intense vignette. Why did you choose this structure and what did it allow you to achieve?
I’ve completed my best work under creative restraints, and originally this piece was a 6,000 word memoir. I think when getting a reader onboard emotionally, you have to work hard and not turn your piece into a sob story. Vignettes are a form that requires a writer to pull out the essentials and get right down to the grit of it, and I think this piece was best served by diving straight to the heart of it.
You're an editor at Glass Magazine, a student publication of QUT, Brisbane. What do you enjoy about editing? Has it changed or influenced your writing process?
I have loved being a part of Glass this year; it has been one of the biggest privileges of my creative career so far. I feel very grateful that I was chosen for that position for 2020. At it’s core, I like reading other people’s writing because they’re phenomenal pieces from all faculties of the university. Being an editor has changed my writing process quite a lot. I’m more self-critical than I was before - for better or for worse. From what I’ve heard, a lot of editors feel the same way.
What other projects (writing-related or otherwise) are you working on at the moment?
I’m working on some more longform nonfiction, but that’s somewhat on the back burner right now. My main product is an iron-on patch called Consent Patches, that is designed to fit inside someone’s zipper and be a symbol to counteract Queensland’s “Mistake of Fact” consent laws. I am a one-man-band: designer, producer, marketer and delivery driver and I’ve been loving every minute of it, as well as being immensely grateful for the outpouring of support for the project. All of the profits are going to Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia - a cause I am very passionate about. Advocacy is just as important as creative writing to me, although that’s not to say writing isn’t one of my biggest joys.
Em Readman is a writer from Brisbane, Australia. Her work is predominantly focussed on intergenerational trauma and advocacy against domestic violence. She is the editor of Glass Magazine. Her previous work has been published in Good Material Magazine, KOS Magazine, Concrescence and others.