The Art of Not Falling Apart with Christina Patterson - a podcast by Mark McGuinness

This week's guest on the 21st Century Creative podcast is Christina Patterson -- writer, broadcaster and consultant, author of The Art of Not Falling Apart.







I first came across Christina's work at the turn of the millennium, when she was Director of the Poetry Society, one of the most venerable institutions in the poetry life of the UK.



She went on to write a regular column at The Independent for many years, about politics, society, culture, books, travel and the arts. In 2013 she was shortlisted for the prestigious Orwell Prize for her campaign to raise standards in nursing, which she pursued in her column, on radio and television.



Christina also conducted many high-profile interviews, with the likes of Diana Athill, Boy George, Daniel Radcliffe, Camille Paglia and Shane MacGowan. She was also the first journalist to interview the former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown after he lost the General Election in 2010.



These days Christina writes for The Sunday Times and The Guardian, and is a regular commentator on radio and TV news programmes, including the Sky News Press Preview.



I met Christina last year, when I had the privilege of coaching her for a few months, and she shared with me a preview copy of her first book The Art of Not Falling Apart. (Amazon US / Amazon UK)



This is an unusual book, in its form and content - part memoir, part collection of interviews and part reflection on how to survive the worst that life can throw at human beings - including illness, injury, redundancy, divorce and bereavement.



I invited Christina onto the show to talk about her unusual journey as a writer, and to give us an insight into what it’s like to work in a high-pressure media environment. And also because reading her book, it struck me that many of the stories and lessons are particularly relevant to those of us on the creative path - where there is little security, the highs can be spectacular and the lows are brutal.



In spite of some of the sombre subjects we touched on, this was a fun interview where Christina and I both made some interesting discoveries. When you listen to it, I’m sure you’ll be as touched as I have by Christina’s sincerity and passion, and also by her infectious sense of the joy of life.



Not only that, you’ll learn something about the redeeming power of crisps and fizzy wine!



You can find out more about Christina's work on her website, and she's an active Twitter user: @queenchristina_



Christina Patterson interview transcript



MARK: Christina, when did you start writing?



CHRISTINA: Well, to be honest, I think I've been writing almost as long as I have been alive, or at least as long as I've been able to read and write, but not creatively for all that time. Indeed, not creatively for all that much of that time. As a child, I wrote stories all the time and was in imaginary worlds for great chunks of my childhood.



But then, when I studied literature, first of all, with ‘O’ and ‘A’ Levels at school and then with my degree in English, I think my daring, my courage to write imaginatively was knocked out of me, because I was cowed by that sense of, 'Who am I to write anything? I've read Shakespeare, I've read Keats, I've read Tolstoy. I've got nothing whatsoever to contribute or add on that front.' And so, it took me a very, very, very long time to even think of having the courage to write creatively, really, even though actually, all I ever wanted to do was write.



MARK: And when did you pluck up that courage?



CHRISTINA: I wanted to become a journalist, but even that I gave up on really quickly. When I was at university, I went to see a careers advisor. I said, 'Oh, I'd love to go into journalism,' and she said, 'It's very competitive.' And I thought, 'Ooh,

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