Why becoming a parent can actually help you become a better writer. Or creator.
Are children the enemy of art?
In 1938, the British essayist Cyril Connolly wrote a much-quoted line, claiming that having children invariably kills creativity: “There is no more sombre enemy of good art than the pram in the hall.”
To be fair, it wasn’t just babies the old curmudgeon objected to. Other obstacles to good writing included sex, worldly success, drink, conversation, politics and day-dreaming.
Having any kind of life, in other words.
Yet this particular quote has echoed down the years ever since. Women especially are often made to feel that they can be a parent, or they can be successful and creative. But never both.
Partly this is about perception, and bias.
Female writers tend to be judged more on their parenting, with critics keen to find signs of maternal neglect.
After her first marriage ended, the novelist Doris Lessing left Africa to come to Britain, leaving her two small children with their father. She is often held up as an example of the choice we need to make between our art and our offspring. But what is…
