In Creative Conversation with Katherine Brabon
Introducing our Creative Conversation Series.
We love learning more about our community, and we started this series to dive into the rituals, creative lives and bathing habits of artists, writers and creatives we admire. The first of the series with Naarm based writer: Katherine Brabon (she/her).
Katherine is a writer based in Naarm/Melbourne. Her most recent novel, Body Friend, was released this year and explores ideas around the body, identity and illness. She grew up in Woodend, Victoria, and is a regular at many of Melbourne’s outdoor pools.
SOS: We’d love to start by asking you about bathing (of course!). If you visit the bathhouse, when do you like to visit, and what brings you here?
I definitely do! And in different ways. The first few times I visited the SOS bathhouse, I was with friends for special occasions, and it was quite social. Gradually, I’ve been drawn to visiting solo, and in the early morning. There is something about the silence and, if you’re lucky, the early morning sun streaming through, that makes for such a nice way to spend time alone. The first time I went by myself, I noticed that most of the early morning bathers were also solo, often reading a book, and I loved this. It’s almost a meditation at that time of day, when you’re half asleep and floating in the water. And there’s nothing like an iced coffee at CIBI after a morning soak.
SOS: What about other kinds of water - pools, oceans?
I really like to swim. I have a chronic illness and after surgery a few years ago, I started going to hydrotherapy with a physiotherapist, and from there, to pools like the City Baths and Carlton Baths. It became something I craved, and I still swim about twice a week. It has become a sort of ritual for me now: to go first thing in the morning, to see the same people at the pool, to take a little longer and walk home afterwards, and after a shower and breakfast I start writing.
I work at a university part time and write on the other days - which is also when I tend to swim - so there seems to be a connection for me between that movement in the water and creativity.
SOS: Whether it’s creatively or just life in general, how do you break out of a funk?
I’m interested in the ways we define words like productivity, rest, funk, lull. For someone like me, who tends to have restless energy, it's hard to pinpoint a lull, creatively or otherwise. I always seem to find something to do, but this takes me away from what I want to be working on. In my book Body Friend I wanted to explore some of these tensions between rest and activity, particularly the narratives we tell ourselves about the body and what we ‘should’ do. The sense of expectation definitely translates to creative work, too. As I’ve been writing for a few years now, I’ve come to appreciate that one dependable way to reset or refocus is to step away and do other things - rest, read, be outside, be with people. I tend to get wrapped up in the next book as soon as I finish one, but now I acknowledge that downtime is okay, even good. It means we resist the urge to keep producing work all the time and when we’re not ready. To absorb something from life and be inspired again takes time.
SOS: One last question - what book would you be bringing for your next bathing session?
Love a book question! I tend to daydream in the water, so I would probably bring a favourite to re-read. I have a stack of Rachel Cusk’s books by my bedside and often pick one up to re-read parts, so I’d have to say something by Cusk. I love her long, artful sentences and her piercing intelligence. And they are books I’ve bought, so I won’t feel bad getting water on a book from a friend or the library!