BY G CONNOR SALTER

Sarah Emtage is many things to many different people. St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ontario knows her as a mild-mannered library technician. 

Visitors of the Narnia fan website The Lion’s Call know her as Swan White, the staff byline she sometimes uses to contribute articles or interviews.

Kingston residents may know Emtage for her contributions to the Shortwave Radio Theatre Festival. In 2020, the festival featured Emtage’s radio play Sound Castle, directed by Becky Bridger and starring Francesca Pang and Douglas Connors. In 2022, a follow-up, The Jabberwocky & the Listeners, appeared with Billie Kearns taking over the role of Magellan.

To others, Emtage is a sculptor (her work can be found on her YouTube channel, including some stop-motion projects), and the author of a poetry collection (Paperscape, The Second-Rate Poetry of S.M. Emtage) and picture book (The Time Wager).

She was kind enough to answer a few questions.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

When did you start writing poetry?

I have a little notebook with the poems I wrote as a kid, maybe 6-8 years old. They are mostly about birds. And then when I was 15, I was talking with friends about The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and we noticed that one of the prophecies didn’t rhyme. I decided to try writing it in verse myself, and was pretty happy with the results. My next poem was about Shasta in The Horse and His Boy. It won a Narnian fanfiction award, and that built my confidence that I could be a poet.

Who are some people who influence you as a poet?

Well clearly C. S. Lewis was a big influence. He’s not really known as a poet, but I’m actually very fond of his poetry, especially the collection called Poems that Walter Hooper put together. I’m fond of Robert W. Service’s poems, his tall tales of Northern Canada. He’s best known for “The Cremation of Sam Magee.” “The Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carrol has had a big influence on how and why I write. Malcolm Guite is my favourite living poet. He’s a great sonnet writer, and all his work is filled with a love of language. Billie Kearns is my favorite local poet. Sometimes I think I could write like her if I was braver.

What pushed you to take the leap into the Kickstarter world and release Paperscape in 2018?

I was writing pretty regularly and getting positive feedback from friends, and I’d always wanted to publish a real ink and paper book. I had contributed to a couple of Kickstarters at that point and I liked the idea of having art directly funded by the people who enjoyed it. The upfront cost of self-publishing is pretty low so I probably could have done it without the Kickstarter, but I wanted to know whether people actually wanted to read it before I put the work in.

What are some things you learned from the Paperscape funding and publishing experience that you applied to your next book, The Time Wager?

I learned not to commit to so many extra rewards. For Paperscape, I got kind of carried away and included paper crowns, paper dolls, pencils, greeting cards etc. I like how they turned out, but designing and ordering all that stuff was more complicated than I had anticipated. 

For The Time Wager, we only offered a bookmark which Blake did the art for (which was fantastic). I guess I had the confidence then to see the book itself as a sufficient reward.

You have a variety of creative outlets—different kinds of writing, not to mention the sculpting. What draws you to try various things instead of specializing?

I guess there’s just too many things that I love, and even though the switching slows my progress in any one area, I feel like there are things I learn in each medium which are fruitful in the others.  

You’ve shared some artwork inspired by Lewis’ work, including footage from an unfinished stop-motion fan film of The Horse and His Boy. Has Lewis’ work inspired any of your recent writing or art?

Lewis said of George MacDonald: “I fancy I have never written a book in which I did not quote from him,” and I could say the same about Lewis. All the mediums and forms I work in began as a place to explore Narnia because I was filled with longing for the otherworld. These days it isn’t always a conscious intention, but Lewis is always present in the background. I did not intentionally model The Sound Castle on Narnia, but it owes a lot to the Wood Between the Worlds and probably Charn as well in The Magician’s Nephew.

Every year, the summer challenge at the Lion’s Call gets me back into making art that directly reflects Narnia. We pick one book each year and read and respond to it together. Sometimes I’ve made elaborate videos or plasticine pictures, and sometimes I only have time for a quick sketch or couplet. Either way, it feels great to explore Narnia creatively with friends. Anyone is welcome to join.

How old were you when you discovered the Chronicles of Narnia?

Too young to remember! My Mom reading the books aloud, abridged cassette tapes, and the BBC adaptations were all in my early childhood.

How have your feelings about Lewis’ writing grown or changed over time?

I’m still endlessly amazed by his books. Even the passages I’ve read over and over again can catch me off guard. I know a lot more about Lewis as a person now than I did as a kid, including complicated and messy aspects of his life. It has all deepened my appreciation for him and his writing.

How did you acquire the nickname Swan White?

I picked Swanwhite as my screen name when I made an account at the Lion’s Call because I didn’t want to use an obvious Narnian character like Lucy or Susan. Swanwhite is an ancient queen mentioned briefly in the last book in the series.

When did you become interested in writing plays for radio as well as writing poetry?

When I was getting my library technician diploma, I started imagining an infinite archive of sounds stored in boxes and the story seemed best suited to an audio format. I listened to a fair bit of radio drama as a kid, so the medium was somewhat familiar to me.

Sound Castle has this very clever idea at its foundation—“Where do the sounds we don’t ever hear go?” How did it develop from the initial idea to the story you released in 2020?

I started doodling the Sound Castle in my class notes. The tone and feel of the story was set pretty early. I wanted characters to explore the Sound Castle and came up with Magellan and Gadget. At some point I rewrote the poem “The Listeners” by Walter de la Mare to make it apply to the Sound Castle, and then decided that each episode would feature a rewritten poem. Somewhere along the line, I came up with the storyline about Magellan’s sister. That became the driving force alongside Magellan and Gadget’s growing friendship. I worked on and off on the pilot for several years with very little progress until I saw the call for scripts for the Shortwave Radio Theatre Festival. The blessing of collaborators and deadlines was exactly what it needed to become a reality.

Any plans for further installments in the Sound Castle story?

It would be rather diabolical of me to write that cliffhanger without intending to continue it. I have a lot of ideas for the rest of the story, and a lot of work left to make it a reality.

You seem to have figured out there’s a line between whimsy or wonder and cheesiness (or being twee as the British would say). Your stories are fun—as you say on your website, they “are all more or less appropriate for all ages”—but there are great moments of pathos. What helps achieve that balance?

Thank you! I’m sure there are times that I’ve tripped over the edge, but I try to be truthful and write what delights me.

Your description of an upcoming book includes G.K. Chesterton’s quote, “Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.” Have you explored any of Chesterton’s work?

I really want to! I’ve toyed with the idea of making a graphic novel adaptation of The Napoleon of Notting Hill or The Man Who was Thursday. The project would be beyond my current skill set, but I still get excited imagining it. Or do you mean exploring in the sense of reading? I have read and re-read a fair bit of Chesterton. He was so prolific that I’ll probably never get the end of him, but he is my third favorite author. (Jane Austen knocked him down a slot a couple years ago.)  

Any upcoming projects you’d like to tell us about?

I have another piece coming up in the spring issue of Love is Moving which will be published online. It’s about winter, spring, death, and resurrection. It might be the most personal thing I’ve written for public consumption. I’m not sure when my other projects will be complete. I’m working on stage and radio adaptations of The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald. (If anyone is interested in producing, get in touch!) I’m also working on a collection of children’s poetry with plasticine illustrations called Clay Castle. A good deal of my waking (and sleeping) thought is dwelling on a fantasy/mystery novel with libraries and gryphons.

Sarah Emtage’s books are available on Amazon. The audiobook version of Paperscape can be purchased or listened to via Bandcamp. More news about her projects can be found on her website.