Natalya is mother of two young children working and living in Sheffield, but originally from London. During her four years in Sheffield, she completed an MA in Creative Writing at Sheffield Hallam University during the period of the Covid pandemic and subsequent lockdowns and she is now beginning to make submissions and to continue with new writing.

'the pram in the hall' was written following a workshop with the poet Kim Moore which discussed both writing about taboo topics and addressing the canon. Rather than address a piece of work in the canon what came to her mind was the Cyril Connelly quote: “There is no more sombre enemy of art than the pram in the hallway.” Noting how pathetically inadequate it was at expressing the more visceral impact of birth and caring for a new born, and both the challenges and inspiration very young children bring to the creative life, Natalya used it as a jumping off point to write with some rawness about the physical and mental effects of childbirth.

What we liked: Natalya’s directness in dealing with normally-unacknowledged emotions around the complex interractions of motherhood, childbirth and creativity is brave and absorbing.

Natalya’s Instagram: @ngarzon1