Helen Mort is a busy woman. She is an award-winning poet and novelist, a runner and a climber. She has also recently become a mum which has transformed her perspective on living adventurously. She told me about being open to the possibilities of change in your life, and the weird way in which an expedition to Greenland can feel less daunting than staying in Sheffield at a gathering of other new parents. 
Helen is not only a highly-acclaimed poet but also a lecturer in creative writing. So I was intrigued to hear her take on imposter syndrome and her masochistic enjoyment of attempting creative projects that she has no idea how to complete. 
I had slept on a river bank (beneath a tree with a noisy hooting owl) the night before meeting Helen, so I was glad that I had the chance to chug down a speedy espresso at the cafe before Helen arrived. She is an incredibly smart woman and my brain needed all the help it could get! 
Helen graduated from Cambridge with a degree in Social and Political Sciences. In 2014, she completed her Doctorate at Sheffield University with a Ph.D thesis in English and Neuroscience. To clear her mind, Helen enjoys running in the Hills of the Peak District.

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Show Notes

• If you enjoy listening to this episode over a cup of coffee and think it might be worth the price, you can buy me a coffee here: www. ko-fi.com/al_humphreys
• Keep up to date with future episodes (and my other adventures, projects and books) with my free monthly newsletter: alastairhumphreys.com/more/subscribe
• Say hello on Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
• ​"Helen Mort is among the brightest stars in the sparkling new constellation of young British poets" - Carol Ann Duffy
• Helen's website and Instagram.
• "I enjoyed running because it was the first time I'd ever been good at something physical."
• The difference between running and climbing for clarity.
• There are times in your life when you can't just 'take off' but you can pretend you can by manageable adventurers
• The changing approach to adventure (and writing) with parenthood.
• Taking a baby running or up Snowdon - Helen enjoys that side of adventure
• The baby gives her adventures more purpose because Helen is exposing them to adventure and the outdoors.
• Adventure is being open to the possibility of something changing your life in ways you can't predict.
• Life feels less risky when I'm in Greenland rather in Sheffield with a group of mums
• The need for security stops Helen going freelance as a writer.
• Fear of your own inadequacy.
• Wilfully feeds her imposter syndrome by trying new genres.
• Likes doing things she doesn't know whether she can do.
• Writing comes from an urge to communicate and to connect

Transcript

Below is the transcription of our conversation. It's done by AI so is perhaps a wee bit ropey here and there. If these transcripts prove sufficiently useful then I will make the effort to clean then up and make them better. Do let me know if you think it's worth my time to do that. (Or, better still, do it for me...!). If you'd like to listen as you read along you can do that here:

https://otter.ai/s/jhNKddo2Rq2HyzVN8GXDGg

Alastair Humphreys 
Helen, thank you for meeting me. I'm sitting on a Saturday morning outside nice cafe, your local cafe, you seem to know everybody walks past with the little one. And who's desperate at the microphone. So we'll give this a go see how we get on. And my first question to you is because I asked this for everyone who's done a PhD? Yeah. Because I love it. What was the title of your PhD? and

Helen Mort 
I'm embarrassed to say it! So the first part is a quote, I must emphasise. "something else, then something else. neuroscience: neuroscience and connexion making in contemporary poetry."

Alastair Humphreys 
I Really, absolutely love people's PhD titles. And I won't I won't ask another question about it! 
You're a climber and runner?

Helen Mort 
Yeah, kinda. Definitely. Not so much of a climber.

Alastair Humphreys 
Okay. And, and one of the things you enjoy it for is the clarity of it. Can you tell me a bit about that? Why you like the running and the climbing.

Helen Mort 
And well actually is I came to climb in a bit later I ran, I was quite, I think it was quite a quite a stocky little kid, I did a lot of walking with my dad, when I was a kid, I was always quite into something German sports, but I never thought of myself as particularly sporty. And I sort of got into running a secondary school and got picked to do a race decided to train for it. And then on the day that PT should pick someone else. And I was really upset and asked if I could run anyway, and then ended up doing quite well. So it kind of all started from there. And so I always enjoyed. I enjoyed running because it was the first time I've been good at anything sort of physical. And that then became my because of that it then became I becam...