Up Close With: Adele Newton
Meet the wonderful writers and patrons behind LWS.
Knowing that every story holds a recipe to life, Italian-Canadian writer Adele Newton takes her time to gather its ingredients … and share.
Adele Newton
- Based: On the shores of Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada
- Age: 68
- Writes: Essays on food, women and food, and growing up in an Italian immigrant family in the 1960's.
What are you working on right now?
Essays for my Substack (dandeliongreens.substack.com) and the outline for a book on the women and food of Basilicata in southern Italy.
Where and when do you write?
Mornings are best for me. I have set up my previous office as my writing room, but once summer has arrived, I love to write on my patio with my garden as inspiration.
How do you write?
MS Word is my friend! I continue to struggle with accepting that shitty first drafts aren’t just okay — they are necessary. So I seem to be in constant editing mode.
Why do you write?
The stories of women, especially Italian women who have spent their lives nurturing their families, are seldom told. I want to tell those stories and showcase their family recipes from this undiscovered region of Italy.
What inspires your creativity?
I am fascinated by people’s stories — because everybody has one to share, whether they know it or not! I love talking with people to learn how and where they grew up and to hear their advice for young people. When you combine that with personal stories about food and how preparing and sharing it influences family life and culture in general — the ideas for writing are endless!
What’s your favourite book?
Only one?? The first book I remember reading, at age 9, is Little Women and that has remained a favourite. I recently read Still Life by Sarah Winman and LOVED it.
What’s the best advice you’ve received about creativity?
Creativity is more than just about being a painter, writer or musician. It is expressed in so many other ways — like gardening, cooking and story telling. Creativity is available to everyone — not just professional artists.
What’s the one thing you would tell other/aspiring writers?
Embrace the shitty first draft! And just keep writing.
How can we discover more about you and your work?
Substack: dandeliongreens.substack.com
Instagram: @newtonadele.
Newsletter: For my client, I’ve written all of the profiles of inspirational people and researchers in a range of fields in the “Profound Connections” newsletter: https://news.profoundimpact.com/category/profound-connections-newsletter/
Adele’s writing view; where seasons of inspiration await.
