Maria Ferguson on her new poetry collection ‘SWELL’ – interview

Maria Ferguson is a poet who lives in Leeds and has just released her second poetry collection, ‘Swell’. In this interview we spoke to her about honesty, the expectations and pressures of womanhood and the female body. 

Maria Ferguson is a Leeds-based poet and award-winning theatre maker of ‘Fat Girls Don’t Dance’ (2017) and ‘Essex Girl’ (2019). In 2020, she released her debut poetry collection, ‘Alright, Girl?’, reflecting on her working-class heritage, womanhood and belonging. Her new collection, ‘SWELL’, released on 30^th January 2025, is another deeply personal collection of poetry. ‘SWELL’ is an honest, uncompromising and powerful collection, full of heart and humour, which movingly documents Maria’s experience of womanhood. I was thrilled to chat with Maria before the release of her second poetry collection about her inspirations for the collection, the importance of honesty in her poetry, and tackling themes of grief, loss and the female body.

We began our conversation by discussing what inspired Maria to write her new collection, which she began during lockdown. The poems took on a similar theme of family, self-reflection, and questioning the future. She noted that, “as a woman, you get to a certain age, and you have to start making decisions.” Divided into four sections, Maria explained that the whole first section is inspired by “looking at the world, looking at my own life, and in my circumstances, asking myself if I want to have children.” From that point on, the collection takes the reader on her journey through living in London, moving to Yorkshire, a pregnancy, a miscarriage, pregnancy again, birth, and finally parenting.

With this collection she seeks to create an honest and open space where the pressures of womanhood can be discussed without shame or judgement in all their multifaceted nature. Maria highlighted that there is “lots of pressure on women for many different things, especially around mothering and childbearing.” The collection provides a raw, honest portrayal of motherhood – its challenges, imperfections, emotional and physical difficulties, as well as the wonders, joy and beauty.

Maria shared a quote from Adrienne Rich, which she finds helpful when thinking about why she chose to write this collection: “When a woman tells the truth she creates the possibility for more truth around her”. This resonates deeply with ‘SWELL’, which powerfully encourages these pockets of space for people to be honest about the messiness of our lives. Maria spoke about the different contradictions women must navigate, but hopes that by “giving an honest account of [her] experiences through these contradictions, [she] has created the possibility for other people to open up about their own experiences and make informed decisions.” ‘SWELL’ shares Maria’s experience of womanhood, but what makes it so beautiful and inspiring is the space it creates for readers to feel validated in all the messiness and complexity of their own experiences.

The second section depicts miscarriage and reflects on the difficulty of grieving for a life that only existed in the dreams of what might be. Maria emphasised that despite one in four known pregnancies ending in miscarriage, there remains a stigma around it which leaves people feeling unable to grieve. Maria explained that “it doesn’t matter how early on, it could be five minutes after the test, but if you have that knowledge and potential your mind has already created this narrative for your future based on that test.” ‘I Didn’t Get to Say Goodbye, I Barely Said Hello’, ‘Pomegranate’ and ‘Two Pink Lines Do Not a Baby Make’, trace the emotional journey of imagining what could have been and coming to terms with losing that future. ‘Swell’ opens conversations about how we grieve, remember, and discuss those we have loved and lost, no matter how small or brief, creating an inclusive space where people can experience these emotions together.

The female body is central to ‘SWELL’, particularly the way it changes through pregnancy, childbirth and growing older. The poems explore the relationship the speaker has with her body. They reflect feelings of shame and betrayal when the body fails to perform the biological function it is meant to. While Maria wanted to create conversations around these feelings of shame, she also asserts that we must “give ourselves some grace and take the shame away from something you have no control over.”

While the body can create feelings of inadequacy, in the final sections of the collection, the body also becomes a source of pleasure, wonder and amazement that should be celebrated. Maria explains that after pregnancy there can be a pressure to bounce back without recognising and appreciating what the body has been through. In the poem ‘Full Term’, the speaker relishes the opportunity to spread across a double seat on a bus, eating a chocolate éclair. Maria states this moment is about “enjoying the fact that when you are pregnant it is the only time you can take up more space and your body can get bigger, not only will it be socially acceptable, but it will be celebrated.” The collection makes room to marvel at the female body and the amazing things it can do, reminding the reader that we should seize these moments before society is trying to change you and your body again.

Ultimately, ‘SWELL’ is a powerful exploration of what it means to be a woman in a world full of contradictions and pressures. By honestly sharing her personal journey, Maria documents how she navigates these contradictions and pressures. The result is a raw, moving, witty collection of poems which demonstrates the “epicness” of life, no matter how messy, imperfect, or difficult it might be. This creates a space for others to feel validated in their own choices and experiences as they journey through the modern world.

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‘SWELL’ is available to buy instore, online and as an audiobook from 30/01/25. You can hear Maria chatting about ‘SWELL’ at Truman Books, Farsley on 06/02/25, where she will be in conversation with Helen Mort. You can also catch Maria reading some of her poems at the Leeds Storytelling Festival on 25/02/25. Finally, keep up to date with Maria’s work on Instagram (@mlferg) and via her website (www.mariaferg.com).