A Wee Review

Wheesht: Creative Making in Uncertain Times, 2021 (2^nd edition)by Kate Davies, Makadu Press, Edinburgh

Thank goodness this lovely book arrived in the mail yesterday. Otherwise I would be grumpily reviewing The Patrick Melrose Novels, about the horrendous behaviour of the British aristocracy, and who needs that?

The word “Wheesht” may be unfamiliar to you, as it comes from Scots dialect, and means to be quiet, to hush, to remain silent. To “haud one’s wheesht” means to hold one’s tongue. Now, what could that possibly have to do with being creative? Quite a lot, as it would seem, as Davies advocates conscious practices of mending, getting lost, setting limits, doubting, paying attention to place, elevating others - deliberately NOT blowing one’s own horn.

This might seem a little unambitious for the creative soul, but Davies makes the point early on that creativity comes from working with what you’ve got, rather than paying big bucks for dream cruises with your favourite painter or investing in a complete set of fancy lenses for your camera. And she has walked the walk, literally. At the age of 36, she had a severe stroke, which required that she give up her career as a literary theorist, and learn to walk and talk again. 

Author Kate Davies - photo by Tom Barr

The most valuable part of this book may be her many references to artists, poets and musicians who used their disabilities to create new works that transcended what they might have done if fully abled. The twelve chapters are full of case studies of familiar artists with disabilities: Frida Kahlo, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Matisse – and other artists who created innovative new work while facing depression, grief, and old age: Alice Coltrane, Brahms, Mary Delany. 

It is the "Uncertain Times" of the subtitle that lead to the broader value of this book. While her examples are primarily people dealing with physical challenges, we all are experiencing, one way or another, the current existential crisis of climate change and the repercussions of COVID. As a friend said to me yesterday, "Every act of creativity is a positive step towards our collective future."

Each chapter ends with a creative assignment or three, and an on-theme diversion. There is an emphasis on play, putting self-judgement aside, being curious, using other senses. Davies states from the outset that this book is a quirky guide – she realizes that her reader may not agree with what she says, or want to follow her assignments – and she is a gentle, philosophical taskmaster. Her own story shows that she learned much from the abrupt end of her academic life: after her stroke, she used knitting as a form of rehab, which led to a small business designing knitwear, creating opportunities for people with disabilities, and even modelling.

My only complaint about “Wheesht” is that the links to online resources seem to only work for British or European readers, but a little Googling solves that. The book is self-published, and available from https://kddandco.com (if you want to browse her whole website) or from https://www.wheeshtbook.com. (It cost about $20 and arrived surprisingly quickly.)

(This review was originally written for the Gabriola Arts Council Newsletter, July 7, 2021.)