Q&A with Emma O’Neill-Sandham
“Despite mum’s best efforts, the divide between her salon family and our family has always been blurred. Like movie extras, mum’s customers have been in the background of our lives for as long as I can remember.”
~ The Salon by Emma O’Neill-Sandham
Your creative nonfiction piece The Salon begins in your mum's home salon in Western Sydney and ranges across the long, rich history of hairdressing, touching on important issues such as class, women's work and societal expectations. Can you talk about the inspiration behind your piece?
Growing up in a working-class neighbourhood of Western Sydney, I’ve always been sensitive to the fact that working-class issues and narratives – if given any attention at all – are often presented within a voyeuristic or humorous framework. I wanted to challenge this by really exploring the complexity, history and beauty of these issues. The piece is also inspired by my mum who, often frustratingly, downplays the importance of her work. I wanted her, and others, to see the depth of her impact on the world.
Your mum and her clients are all fantastic, colourful characters, described with great warmth, humour and empathy. How did you go about bringing them to life on the page?
Aren’t they great! Honestly, I didn’t have to do much more than simply describe them! Over the years, I’ve sometimes helped out at mum’s salon; mainly just washing hair and cleaning perm rods. So, for this piece, I asked mum if I could help out one Saturday morning. During my shift, I wrote down everything I saw and heard (in a little black book hidden behind the basin!) from how the brush swept hair and what magazines were being read, to what people were talking about. I combined these notes with a brainstorm on all the memorable customers over the years. The hardest part was then describing them with such a limited word count, so I had to try and choose the one descriptor that spoke loudest. For example, Molly was so glamorous and I had a long list describing what she was wearing and how she walked/spoke etc. but it was the fact that she maintained platinum blonde hair at 84 that spoke volumes, I thought!
You've had short fiction as well as nonfiction published in The Lifted Brow and Going Down Swinging. What do you enjoy, or find challenging, about both forms?
They’re both so challenging! I would hate to think how many drafts I write or hours I spend on any single piece, it never comes easily for me – I wish it did! Despite the blood, sweat and tears, I really enjoy both forms. With fiction, it’s all about that rush you get when you’re finally in the zone (something that can take months or years to get into and then only last a measly few hours)! But in those moments, when you’re actually hearing and seeing your characters so clearly, it really is such a joy. The challenge, however, is actually getting into that zone: so many writing exercises, rambling thoughts and, of course, thousands and thousands of words that will never be read by anyone just to get there! I liken it to an athlete who might spend hundreds of hours training for a race that can last seconds. For nonfiction writing, I love that moment when you start to see something differently for the first time. The challenge is then presenting this new truth in a way that engages, and strikes a balance between personal histories and research.
What's next on your reading list?
With an 8-month-old baby my reading has slowed somewhat! But I am currently reading Fathoms by Rebecca Giggs. It is so beautifully written and totally blowing me away.
Emma O’Neill-Sandham is a writer from Western Sydney, Australia. A former journalist, she is a graduate of the Master of Creative Writing program at Macquarie University and has been published in The Lifted Brow and Going Down Swinging.