Booker nominated Rebecca Perry discusses May We Feed the King
Already an acclaimed poet, Rebecca Perry published her debut novel May We Feed the King earlier this year. Earlier this month, the book was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, recognising it as one of the six best book published in the English language in the UK and Ireland in the last year.
We May Feed the King is a book that feeds curiosity. It follows an unnamed curator as she takes a job in a historic house. There she becomes transfixed by the reign of an almost-forgotten king - a reluctant ruler, forced to take the throne after the death of his older brothers. As the curator disappears into the past to hide from her present, the story questions what makes a life meaningful and how we judge who should be remembered.
At this year’s Margate Bookie, Rebecca will talk in depth about the novel and her career to date in an interview with poet Rachel Long. Before that, we caught up with her for a about her writing process, award nomination, inspirations and more.
What inspired you to write May We Feed the King?
I suppose decades of reading brilliant poetry and novels, and many books that fall in between. In my writing, I’m generally interested in poking at notions of truth and reliability but am also very drawn to exploring human experience (what writer isn’t?) and wanted to combine all of that with something that had the magic of historical fiction at its heart.
Do you think your background in writing poetry influenced your approach to writing May we Feed the King?
Definitely. I would never have been able to write this book without that background. I’ve said before that poetry – the reading and writing of it – gives you a really high tolerance for ambiguity and language refusing meaning. I carried that into the book for sure, as well as continuing to care deeply about pace, space and line.
What is your writing process?
Unfortunately I don’t have a process for anything. I just write, and try to properly pay attention to every small detail as much as I can, and hope for the best.
What is it about gaps in historical fact that interest you?
I suppose I’m more interested in the notion of historical fact in the first place. But I think generally the good, properly intriguing stuff of life happens in the vast grey spaces between the things we think we can be sure of. That’s where all the human, textured stuff happens!
How does it feel for your first novel to be nominated for the Booker Prize?
Quite literally unbelievable.
Rebecca Perry will be interviewed by poet Rachel Long on 17 October at Turner Contemporary, as part of this year’s Margate Bookie. Book tickets now.