The Wind Thieved Hat Richard Holman

‘Sometimes a fuck up isn’t a fuck up: it’s the angel on the shoulder of the devil on your shoulder.’

These lines were among the first I came across by the Australian poet and artist Darby Hudson. I liked them so much I asked if I could use them to head a chapter on mistakes in my own book. Darby said yes, and so began our correspondence.

I’ve thought for a while that Darby would be an excellent guest on the Wind Thieved Hat and when I found out that he was about to publish a book on creativity and poetry, I invited him to join me.

Our conversation roams over subjects as diverse as the losses and wins of getting older, what your sober self can learn from your drunk self, the benefits of hanging out in cemeteries and much more besides.

Darby’s a charming bloke with lots to say about creativity. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Dan Nelken is on a mission: he’s passionate about helping creative people create and get over what's stopping them. A fork lift driver and advertising copywriter by trade, his book A Self Help Guide for Copywriters was a breakout hit during the pandemic.

I wanted to speak to Dan not just because I’m on a similar mission, or because I wanted to talk about copywriting per se, but because I know he has things to say that are helpful to anyone who’s plucking up the courage to begin their own creative journey.

It’s a fascinating chat. We talk about Dan’s chaotic and lawless early years. He introduces me to Alan, the scared little voice inside his head. And he explains how he got over a lifetime habit of not finishing stuff and finally found fulfilment.

This episode was recorded down the line. There are kids in the background. And a little hammering. But there’s also lots of great conversation.

Kathryn Mannix is a best-selling author and palliative care doctor. Given that this is a podcast about the creative process she may seem to be a rather unusual guest, but as you’ll discover, Kathryn is a brilliant wordsmith and someone who has a great deal to say about stories; the stories we use to make sense of life and of death.

Kathryn’s self-declared mission is to make us all more comfortable with the idea of dying. And this is something we discuss in detail. But we also talk about creativity in medicine, about the process of writing, how to give stories the space to tell themselves, and she has a fascinating theory on why it seems that only the good die young.

An inspirational conversation with a wise and humble human being.

My guest in this first post-pandemic episode of TWTH is the writer, performer and broadcaster Byron Vincent. He joined me in my shed at the bottom of the garden and it was really lovely to be able to record in interview in person for the first time in a long time.

Byron grew up poor. With the cards stacked against him. He had a tough time when he was younger. He’s the only one of my guests, so far as I know to have been shot and kidnapped. But through the nurturing of his home environment and his own character kooks – he used to bunk off school to go to the library – he managed to navigate those early challenges to become one of the most thoughtful and socially conscious writers working today.

Our conversation roams widely. We talk about creativity of course, but also about neurodiversity and addiction, about turning perceived deficits into attributes, about the scourge of social media and there’s some brilliant advice for anyone looking to make it as writer or performer from a background like Byron’s.

Of all the books I read to my kids when they were growing up, there was one that I loved just as much as they did - ‘The Murderer’s Ape’. An enthralling globe-trotting tale of murder and mystery. And at the heart of the story is a ship’s engineer who just happens to be a gorilla, the one and only Sally Jones.

In this episode of the Wind Thieved Hat, recorded down the line, the creator of Sally Jones, writer and illustrator Jakob Wegelius bravely submits himself to questions from me in a language that is not his own. His responses are gentle, humble and wise.

We talk in depth about Jakob’s process, about how writing is the broccoli he likes to get out of the way before he indulges in the ice cream of drawing. And he tells me about his dream to hitch hike round the world on boats.
If you’ve not yet read the Sally Jones books, you might want to after listening to this., no matter how old you are …

It’s rare but every so often a documentary film comes along that transcends the medium, that is in itself a work of art. For me, 'Garage People' is such a film.

It describes the lives of a group of people living in the arctic circle in Russia, all of whom have their own garage space where they pursue all kinds of activities, from salvaging scrap, to carving religious icons, playing death metal, breeding quail, and even digging a never ending hole.

It’s intimate, profound and above all, human.

So I was delighted to talk to Natalija Yefimkina, the film’s director, about her own creative process. Garage People is - remarkably – her first film.

In our conversation, recorded remotely, we discuss the question of artistic compromise, and fighting for your vision, especially as a first time director and as a woman. Natalija, who has never been to film school describes the value in rejecting the conventions of your chosen medium. She reflects on the role of ego in the artistic process. And there’s an explanation of how she managed to navigate the challenges of a four year project.
An inspirational conversation with a great talent.