Donna Matthew: the Paisley poet talks to Claire Elliott

Fresh from her appointment as Makar of the Scottish Women’s Football Association Poetry Society, Donna Matthew discusses her new role and what it means to her to be a Paisley poet with Claire Elliott

What would you say your experience has been like living in Paisley?

I was born in Paisley, but I grew up in Johnstone and moved to Glasgow later on. There’s a story in our family that goes – we were all out in town in Paisley and I’d maybe had one too many drinks, and the bouncer told me “not tonight”. So I said, “Paisley? You can keep Paisley, I live in Glasgow now”.

Thinking I was a total ticket, and my Mum never let me forget that. Eight years ago, when I had my son, my Mum suggested I move back to Paisley and so that’s what happened. I very much consider myself a Paisley person, a Paisley poet. I started writing four years ago and set up Poets in Paisley, which I would call my own poetry stable.

I’ve started running events in Paisley using local poets and artists and I very much feel in the bricks in Paisley now. I’ve very much come full-circle from having this “I’m away into the big city” attitude to now being so much a part of the artistic community, the culture and the fabric of Paisley that is just so unparalleled. 

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A lot of your poetry is influenced by Paisley as well, what do you think it is about Paisley that inspires you to encapsulate the town in such a way?

I think for all poets, we mine our lives for material. We’re all using our life and our experience and the place we come from as source material. But Paisley is an incredible town. It’s got such a rich history, not just in the mills, the Coats, the Clarks and the families that helped to build Paisley, but also its radical history and the activists who fought for workers rights. The Paisley witches as well, it has all this rich history. I think you can’t help but be from Paisley and write about it.

You started writing poetry four years ago, but did you have any interest in it at a younger age?

I think it probably just kind of came upon me one day. Like many Scottish school children, my introduction to poetry was Robert Burns and then from there, poets like Seamus Heaney. But I never thought of doing poetry really until during lockdown, I had a few lines just swirling around in my head.

2020 was a very difficult year for me, it’s the year where I made a difficult decision to step away from my marriage. I was unhappy, I turned 40 the year before, and I just kept thinking, this isn’t life, there’s something out there that I’ve got to search for.

And so these lines were swirling around in my head and I came across an online poetry workshop, and I thought I could join with my camera off and sink into the background, but I found that wasn’t the format of it. It was with a poet called Cat Hepburn. Everybody started with their cameras on, they got involved with prompts and then shared their work. So, I thought, we’re here, let’s do this.

And I’m glad that I did, because everything then sprung from that one experience in that writing workshop, because I had this line in my head, associated with the relationship that I just had and the marriage that I just left and it was like, imperative that whatever was in my head, got out. 

Photo by Suki Sangha, @revolutionarysocialista

You’ve recently been appointed Makar of the Scottish Women’s Football Association Poetry Society, how did that opportunity come about?

What an honour. The two people that were pivotal in that were poets called Julie MacNeill and Hugh MacMillan. Julie is now the gaffer for the Hampden Collection and they both selected me off the back of work that I’ve done, not just in poetry, or in producing events and creating opportunities for other poets, but also because of my interest in football poetry. 

So what is your work with the Scottish Women’s National Team Poetry Society going to entail?

I’m responsible for reviewing any of the poems that get submitted from fans of the National Women’s Team, and then to say what gets published on the website. Having just taken up the role, I’ve put a call out on social media to get poems submitted. But my hope would be to develop it within the communities that I’m in contact with.

There’s been a spark of ideas to run some poetry competitions, link in with education authorities, schools, potentially all of these things that can be explored. Football and poetry, who knew? But I mean, it’s so much about the fabric of communities, of people’s identities and of their passions.

You founded Poets in Paisley in 2021 and it’s been growing ever since. What are your plans for the collective going forward?

The sky’s the limit. My ambition is to eventually set up a creative writing space where people can participate, learn and create in a safe and naturalistic environment. I’m a yoga instructor so I’d like to bring that aspect into it as well, as I’ve recently started doing yoga and poetry workshops. I’m just going to keep going and going until I find a barrier, and then try to jump over it. 

Q&A with Donna Matthew

Your biggest inspiration? My son, Rory. 

Your favourite Poet? At the moment, Morag Anderson.

A poem you wish you’d written? What Sisterhood Means by Lisa Luxx.

Ideal way to spend a day in Paisley? Coffee at the Gatehouse Coffee Roasters and then a walk up the Gleniffer Braes with Rory. 

You can follow Donna Matthew and keep up with her upcoming events on Instagram. For poetry by Donna Matthew and other talented, local writers, check our poetry archive.