An Interview with Leona Marie

Leona Marie is a writer with over twenty years of experience as both a teacher and school leader. She has a BSC in Psychology and a Master’s in Primary Education. Her poetry and short stories are heavily inspired by her experiences in the classroom, as well as the challenges of balancing a busy day job with making time for creative pursuits. Hence her own description of herself as ‘Teacher by Profession, Writer by Passion.’

A few of her stories and poems have been featured in magazines, and Leona also self-publishes two Substack newsletters: one for sharing her creative writing and the other focussed on education. In the latter, ‘Teaching Against the Tide,’ she shares innovative practices from her own schools, along with general advice and reflection on the education system. Her focus is on putting children first and she is passionate about creative approaches to curriculum, outdoor learning and inspiring children to see themselves as fearless writers.

When she isn’t busy working or writing, Leona enjoys reading, walks along the Norfolk coastline, rock music, and spending time with her family, friends, and cat.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

Ever since I was little, I have always loved writing. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t scribbling my thoughts down, writing stories or making my own books. In fact, my parents recently found one of the first-ever books I made as a child, and it now proudly sits on my writing desk as a reminder this has always been my passion! For many years, writing took a backseat as I built a career as a primary school teacher. Writing for fun was mostly replaced with writing lesson plans, reports and policies, but I still indulged myself in creating stories or poems to use with the class. Then a couple of years ago, I stumbled across a free online writing sanctuary by author Beth Kempton. My spark was reignited and, inspired by Beth’s book The Way of the Fearless Writer, I’ve been working on book ideas, poetry as well as just writing for my own enjoyment ever since.

What inspired you to start writing this book?

I think poetry is both incredibly powerful but also super accessible. You only need a minute or two to read a poem, yet in that time it can move you, change your perspective and, perhaps, leave you thinking about it long after you’ve finished reading. And writing poetry is also quick and easy. As a teacher, I see how children can be turned off writing for fear of getting it wrong – all the punctuation and grammar rules can stilt creativity. But poetry breaks all the rules (in fact that’s the title of a poem in my book!). I have a wealth of advice from 20+ years in teaching that I would love to share with others but I know how time-poor our profession is. A book of quick-to-consume poetry, with a little reflection and explanation thrown in seemed like the answer.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

I actually always dreamed of writing a novel (and I have the start of so many ideas in notebooks all over my house!) but then I found a little writing group that steered me towards non-fiction. Supported by my Book Forge friends, I started out with the intention of writing some sort of teaching manual/self-help book. Then suddenly the poetry I wrote and advice I was trying to share started to intermingle and I ended up with this idea of a poetry book for teachers. Something with poems for the good days, the bad days, and the in-between days that addressed the why, what, and how of the job, but was accompanied by practical tips, prompts, and advice. Something that would support you in the classroom but also look after the wellbeing of you as a person beyond the job. For a long time the working title was simply Poems for Teachers. But It’s Worth It only came toward the end when I was trying to write a synopsis of the purpose and message of my book. The words had been echoing in the back of my head a lot when writing and it is the mantra that I say to myself on tough days to keep me going.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

I feel like answering this will immediately age me! The first song that started playing in my head when I read this question was S-Club 7’s “Reach,” in particular the lyric “don’t stop, never give up.” Teaching is a tough job and sometimes those words are exactly what you need to do. That’s what my book is designed to help with. Plus, it’s one of the songs I play to my class to inspire a positive mindset in them. Alongside that, I think I would add: New Radicals – “You Get What You Give,” Monty Python – “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” and (because I’m a rock chick at heart) Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out for Summer.”

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

What do my readers not know, you ask? Perhaps that my academic background was in psychology and throughout my career I’ve continued to study the brain and how it works. While the medium of poetry might seem quite arty, the book is actually rooted in neuroscience and the advice within it is all underpinned by research.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

I want my teacher-readers to know they are not alone and to be empowered to keep going through the tough days, because it is worth it. I want people to see the value in using poems in class and to inspire their children to see themselves as writers, writing for fun and creativity not to meet some specific learning objective.

And my perfect reader? Well, I’ve actually got a poem about them. It begins:

I know a teacher, that no matter what I say,

responds with ‘How exciting!’ as she throws herself into each day.

And ends like this:

There’s a constant barrage of changes, suggestions and demands,

Disruptions to your plans that make it hard to stay calm.

But I know a teacher, that with a smile it will be,

‘How exciting!’ as she reframes each challenge as opportunity.

There’s a whole load more in the middle, but you’ll have to read the book for that!

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.