Meet Brannavan Gnanalingam
Brannavan Gnanalingam is one of the contributors to Parenting in the Anthropocene, published by Freerange Press. His most recent novel is Sprigs, published by Lawrence & Gibson Publishing.
It's busy to be a father and to be a writer, on top of all the other things we are in life. Tell us how you fit writing into your day. How does parenthood play a role in your work?
To be honest, writing is a distant third to parenting (first) and paid work (second). My kids are young enough that they're asleep early enough for me to write in the evening. Since I've had kids, I tend to write in my lunchtimes or whenever I can that doesn't impact on parenting. I've written first drafts of my columns on the bus, for example. I think I understand the process of writing better than I did when I started, so I can make things work around everything else. But I also want to make sure I don't miss out on being a father. I can keep writing after they've moved out and when I'm old, whereas I can never get that time back hanging out with them.
Parenting hasn’t necessarily featured a lot in my books, except for Sodden Downstream. I think, for me, Sita's entire journey was driven by being a parent. I'm currently working on a novel though that's completely inspired by being a parent. It's a horror novel though, so not sure what that says about my state of mind.
Do you have an enduring memory of your father and books?
Both my parents didn't read much, but they were incredibly supportive of my sister and me wanting to read. They wanted to make sure we could have opportunities they didn't have, and they fostered our reading even when times were skint. But that said, my dad gave me two books that he loved that were hugely formative. The first was RL Stevenson's Treasure Island, which I just loved and found so exciting; the second was a collection of short stories about the Uighur trickster, the Effendi. I think that helped shape my sense of black humour, irony and holding the powerful to account. I absolutely loved that book.
If you could recommend one book for your kids to read now (or in the future) what would it be?
I'm wary about pronouncing "these are books you need to read". I just want my kids to remain curious and excited about the world and open-minded. If anything – is this a copout – the book I want them to read in the future, is the next one.
If you were to write a book about your experiences as a father, what would the title be?
Muddling Along While Listening to Italo.
Is there a book you would suggest all new fathers should read to prepare themselves for the journey ahead?
I think I'd probably recommend reading as many accounts from mothers as you possibly can! But if I had to name, why not Mariama Bâ's So Long a Letter?
