Everyday Zen: Quickfire Q+A with Alan Spence

Join us as Alan Spence, author of A Wee Bit Zen, takes part in our series of quick-fire Q&As!

What is a quick-fire Q&A?

We have our interviewee pick a number at random and we ask them the general question listed next to it.

Shortly after we switch to asking book-specific questions, to give you a brief insight into our wonderful writers and their books.

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What are you reading currently?

The Garden Against Time, by Olivia Laing. Like all her works it’s intelligent and challenging, accessible and uplifting and beautifully written.

What was your favourite book as a child?

Peter Pan (followed by Treasure Island). Both wonderful adventures.

Who inspires you the most?

My Guru, Sri Chinmoy (1931–2007) – poet and philosopher, artist and musician, athlete, spiritual teacher, man of peace. The most extraordinary human being I’ve ever known.

What first drew you to poetry as a form of expression?

I read Dylan Thomas in my teens and I was hooked. He called his poetry ‘ferocious and un-understandable’ and I loved it!  In time I moved on to simpler (but no less profound) forms, like haiku.

Do you enjoy performing your poetry or do you prefer it to be read quietly?

Both are important, but I do love reading aloud, letting the audience hear (and feel) the rhythm, the cadences, the music of it.

What inspired this particular collection?

What has been called ‘the music of what happens,’ the magic (and humour) of what we see and hear around us – everyday zen.