Elisha Kennedy
Photos: Trish Chong
Editorial: Jessie James
Elisha Kennedy lives with partner Shane, son Ossie and dog Ranger in an original 1960’s red brick home in Burraneer, south of Sydney. Books fill built-in shelves in the living room and sit overhead in the kitchen, while Elisha’s current pursuits are stacked at her bedside. To one side Elisha’s deliberately pared back and composed writing desk is tucked in a quiet corner. In the kitchen an open pantry houses jars of preserves and jams Elisha has made and a heavy black enamel kettle is boiling water on the stove.
Where are you from?
I was born in Canada (my father is Canadian, mother, German-Australian) and grew up in the southern suburbs of Sydney.
Where have you lived previously?
I have lived most of my life in Sydney, with stints in Canada and France. We’ve just moved back to Sydney after 1.5 years living down on the Far South Coast in Pambula. We learned a lot from regional living and loved having the ability to spend more time together and dive for seafood most weekends as well as the spaciousness and focus on community, although we are also pleased to be back in the city now for the energy, facilities and Japanese food.
Could you tell us a little about your background?
Writing and reading has always been important to me. As a child I had notebooks in which I’d write poems and even produced a magazine for our group of friends in primary school. I was also very involved in theatre throughout school and spent most of my time writing plays and skits, acting them out in front of parents, assemblies and entering into competitions.
I was very anti-establishment during University, I had come from a very academic high school and my experience of uni (the cost, huge class sizes, teachers being paid to spend exactly two minutes and no more reading and grading essays) was pretty negative. I started multiple degrees and eventually just wanted to graduate asap as I was already working a job I enjoyed and the erratic hours of tutorials were a nuisance, so I pulled all the units I had completed into an Arts degree at UNSW and majored in Creative Writing since I thought I could breeze through it with minimal attendance and effort. I ended up having some fantastic lecturers and teachers in those final get-me-out-of-here semesters and realised that something that I had always felt an ease with [writing] could be a way to earn a living through doing something I enjoyed.
What are you currently working on?
Professionally, a guide to Sydney for one of my favourite publications and preparing for a creative writing workshop I’m hosting at Studio Local in Melbourne next month. I also have a community-based side project brewing (unrelated to writing) which I am in the research phase of.
Personally, how to better advocate for environmental responsibilities and sustainable practices.
What are you most proud of?
My little family.
What do you see as your limitations?
Time, Money and Bureaucracy.
What is most important to you right now?
The health of the planet and my family. Finding a balance between being engaged in the present and remaining focused on the future.
What or who are some of your influences?
Right now, those who spring to mind are: my partner, Shane. My year 5 and 6 teacher, Mrs Proudfoot! She fostered my love for storytelling and in many ways I think influenced me in becoming the person I am today. The novelist, Barbara Kingsolver. Joost Bakker, for using creativity and innovation to push a number of influential projects and demonstrations here in Australia. Alex Elliott-Howery of Cornersmith, who got me addicted to pickling.
Where do you like to spend time locally?
We spend a lot of time at Greenhills Beach for our kelpie, Ranger. I’ve found a group of fellow kelpie owners and we meet up at the same time each morning so the dogs can outrun each other. I also walk into Cronulla to go to the library several times a week, my son Ossie pulls all the books off the shelves and I fill the bottom of the pram with what I want to borrow. I love to cook so we don’t eat out that often, but we will pack a picnic and head to a nearby swimming hole, Salmon Haul Bay or Maianbar.
If you could meet one person you admire?
Edith Piaf. I’m besotted. I cried when I visited her grave at Père Lachaise.
How do you approach your writing?
It is pretty instinctive, I am either feeling it or I am not. If it’s the former then I will type furiously for as long as time/demands allow me, but I have an 11 month old baby so have to be realistic about what I can achieve and when. I work first thing in the morning, if I can. The early hours are always my best, however I do like to edit in the evenings when I’m tired and less patient as I find it’s an efficient way to eliminate anything that I’ve been unsure about or that’s not working. When concepts strike me at inconvenient times I jot them down on pieces of scrap paper which invariably end up in an unorganised pile in the centre of the dining table. In terms of practises, I am religious about deadlines. I also approach writing with equal parts reading, the more I’m reading, the better my writing – that much is obvious to me.
What are you reading right now?
I’m a couple of pages away from finishing Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. And am also in the middle of:
– Oodgeroo, Kathie Cochrane
– The Parent’s Guide to Climate Revolution (the librarian recommended it and it is brilliant! Tackles demoralisation with inspiring and practical ideas.)
– Normal People, Sally Rooney
Is there a ‘goal’ publication or place you’d like to see your work?
I would love to work on a narrative cookbook and a children’s book for my son.
Could you tell us a special memory associated with your writing?
I wrote a personal essay for Anyonegirl’s Waist magazine, that I worked on with my grandmother. It was a very emotional process for her, to share intimate details and memories knowing that they would be reconstructed for a wider audience. She was nervous about this. When it was published I posted a copy of the magazine to her in Canada. A week later I had an email from her, she described how she was in tears when she read it and told me how cathartic it was for her to open the parcel and read our story, to let go of words to which she had held so tightly to for the best of 40 years. I treasure that email from her and it’s a piece I am proud to have out in the world.
Recommended reading
Belinda Black
I remember a burst water main in the back of Brooklyn on a stinking hot summer day and we literally stopped the car and ran through it along with half the neighbourhood kids.
Recommended reading
Bronwyn Birdsall
I loved that aspect of life in Sarajevo, a city of so many interweaving stories, where you’ll hear bits and pieces from different people about the same incident for years.