This week Nasty Nostalgia spoke with London based poet Scarlett Sabet who discussed her spoken word album, literary inspirations, and her unique style.
Scarlett photographed by Scarlet Page for Catalyst
I’m a big fan of yours and your work and have found great solace in your writing given what’s going on in the world around us. Is there a specific message that you want your work to convey?
Thank you so much! I have always believed that artists have a duty to reflect the world around them. Frankly the times we have been living in, how could you not? I was raised to be aware of how fortunate and lucky I am. I also have veterans in my family, and my mother’s side of the family are French, so my grandfather spent his teenage years under Nazi occupation in Northern France. His father, my great grandfather, was in the French resistance. After the war, he was awarded the Legion De Honour by the French Government for his bravery and service. So, perhaps because all this is in my blood, I feel more compelled. The night before I wrote “Fifth Circle of Hell”, we watched the news; this was in 2016, at the time when the refugee crisis really was being highlighted in the media. There were images of these forlorn tents in the rain, in Calais, where people who had fled Syria, Iraq, war-torn countries had to try and survive. To me, it felt intrinsically wrong. I wrote a few notes down in my Moleskine notebook, and then the next day, I sat down with a big mug of green tea, and I wrote the whole poem in one sitting. Some things I feel compelled to write about, it's my way of trying to pay tribute, or highlight as a poet.
Did you always know that you wanted to be a writer? What inspired you to start writing?
Well, I've just always written. I've been blessed that I was able to experiment in other art forms, but writing, poetry, in particular, has always been the most immediate language form. I would read my mother's books, I read Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar when I was 12. When I was studying English A-level certain poems really started to fascinate me. We were studying the classics, Coleridge, and W.B Yeats and then when I was asked to attend Advanced English which was a great excuse to read, even more, we would study extra books that weren't on the required curriculum.
I really enjoyed analysing the written word, trying to work out its alchemy. I’ve always written a kind of diary, a non-linear, random lyrical documentation of my life, experience and perspective. My poems were rooted in that and crept out. Poetry just became the language that made the most sense. And I've always been a bookworm.
Scarlett photographed by Scarlet Page for Catalyst
That being said, who are some of your biggest literary inspirations?
I respect any artist that is brave, that has passion and courage, and has an authentic voice in their work. Ted Hughes is a favourite poet of mine, his book Crow is really powerful. I like Emily Dickinson and Baudelaire as well.
I’ve noticed that you have a great love and interest in photography as well as writing. How do those two art forms intersect for you?
Some photos capture an energy, an intensity, which can be beguiling and inspiring. It's interesting how one person can find one image inspiring and another person can find it threatening, whatever artistic statement is made, people almost always project their own thoughts, feeling, desire, and insecurity onto the work, whether that be a photo in a gallery or on Instagram.
I really appreciate the depth and beauty of film. It has a depth in the same way vinyl records do. From the age of 21 until last summer I was a waitress at a place in London called the Chelsea Arts Club, a private members club for artists that was established in 1890 by Whistler. Each month there would be a different exhibition at the club by a member, so I was fortunate to see some really interesting exhibits. Photographer Neil Libbert's exhibition stood out, his black and white film photos of America in the early 1960's were exquisite and poetic. I remember a very surreal exhibition of paintings done by an artist called Mike Pope that were inspired by the dreams he had whilst in a coma in hospital. I was very lucky to waitress at such a culturally rich establishment with such a long history. The members always took an interest in what we did, I remember once serving an artist there who said "How's your work?" I said "Oh fine, I finish at 6pm", he said "No, not this, I mean your REAL work, how's your writing?' Some of the members had also worked there as well, so they all had an appreciation and respect that we were working there to enable us to continue our artistic work and live in a city like London.
I have a photographic memory, for words and images. We're all overwhelmed with images really, aren't we? On the news, social media in the palms of our hands. But even now some images in particular stand out. I remember seeing on Twitter a photo taken by photojournalist Andrew Quilty called “The Man On The Operating Table”. It broke my heart and haunted me. It was of an Afghan man named Baynazar Mohammed Nazar. He worked as a security guard, was married with four children. He went back to work after fighting between Taliban forces and the government and he ended up being injured by simply being caught in the crossfire. He was injured and was taken to a hospital run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders). He was being operated on, when a US aircraft bombed the hospital, mistakenly thinking it was a Taliban compound. The cruel fate in all of that really stayed with me, the domestic impact war has on ordinary civilians. I wrote a poem inspired by that image and the story behind it, that poem was published in my second collection The Lock And The Key.
Scarlett photographed by Scarlet Page
How do you feel the art of poetry has changed within the past 100 years? Do you believe that
the age of Social Media has impacted the art form at all?
The internet makes everything so accessible. It’s easier to access artists and find them on social media, see how they present themselves. I think there is more tolerance to different ideas of what poetry can be, and who can write poetry. Also, I believe strongly that poetry is for everybody, and should be made to be accessible for everyone. I love it when someone comes to a poetry reading and afterwards says: "I don't normally get poetry, but I really loved that". A poetry reading can make the words come alive, make it more visceral and give a new life and idea of what poetry is. I've always loved giving readings, it's an amazing surge of energy and interaction with the audience listening and reacting and absorbing.
Is there one project that you’ve worked on that particularly stands out to you?
Well, Catalyst, the spoken word album I made, which was produced by Jimmy. I've been proud of each book, and there are particular poems like “Ocean”, a love poem I wrote the day after Valentine's Day 2016, and then poems like “Cut Up” and “Shackles”, which were also creative landmarks. I suppose the most important project I did was organise my first poetry reading at the Worlds End Bookshop, in 2013. I had finally been sharing the poems I had been writing, and I was friends with everyone at Worlds End Bookshop. I would hang out with them there every Friday and eventually I organised a reading, invited other people that I knew wrote and had work to share. A guy that worked at the bookshop sang with his sister, it was an inclusive creative night. I wasn't part of the literary world, so I thought I would create a night of my own.
Your spoken word album Catalyst is so unique, what made you want to release an album?
Well, it was Jimmy's idea. When my first book came out in 2014, he said we should do a record together one day. So it was always at the back of our minds, but I never brought it up, I trust him and he knows best. A big part of Jimmy's genius is timing. He wanted to do something radical that would emphasise the power of the spoken word, in the spirit of William Burroughs. I trusted him implicitly during the process, he had a very clear vision of what he wanted to manifest, this very unusual, textured sonic landscape. Obviously being in a relationship together, being so in sync, aided the process, it was a joy to work together. It was like meeting again for the first time in the studio, but with our intense shared history. Also, we recorded it at home at Tower House so that added another layer of comfort. When he played it to me I was quite overwhelmed, because it's intense and quite disruptive, it's not there to comfort but confront.
How was the experience of producing an album different from your other work?
It felt like a natural progression. Also, Jimmy is the first person to read my new poems as I'm working on them, I trust his judgement, and if he likes a poem then I included it in a collection. So the poems on Catalyst are important landmark poems, personally and professionally.
Your style is something out of another era. How would you describe your personal style and aesthetic? Do you have favorite places to shop in London? Who are some of your favorite designers?
Well, most of my clothes are second hand, either charity shops or vintage clothes fairs. I like second hand clothes because it's like they find you. I would rather wear something I have and love and have worn constantly than something new for the sake of it. I really like Paul Smith, he is still an independent fashion house 50 years after starting his business. He has such a fast moving and creative mind. I did a few readings last year and wore a blue suit he had given me. I really loved wearing the suit, it's strong and structured, you feel powerful and you sit differently. I also really like a new young designer called Nicole Eymard, her label is called Nichloris, it's an independent Demi-couture womenswear label. She was raised in California and studied in Paris, and is now based in London. Her clothes are sustainable and made here in the U.K using local manufactures and artisans fusing traditional craftsmanship with modern artistry. She creates very feminine dresses and shirts. I adore her silk slip dresses. Nature and ancient mythology are woven into her garments and that gives them a strength as well as being flattering and feminine. I love dresses. Jimmy's best friend of over 50 years is an antique dealer called Paul Reeves, he's the most wonderful man and I feel blessed to now have him in my life too. We were visiting Paul one weekend and I saw this incredible long red Victorian coat, it was made in 1870, I really didn't think it would fit but it was a perfect fit. That’s an incredible thing to have, and I've worn it for some poetry readings, I wore it when I read at Wellesley College.
If you could raid anyone’s wardrobe who would It be?
No one. I like what I've got. But I enjoy seeing another woman being true to herself, looking beautiful and confident. I think beauty and elegance has so much to do with a person's spirit and character, there is strength and beauty in a woman that has overcome adversity.