An international graduate from University of the West of Scotland (UWS) has released a new novel inspired, in part, from her time studying in Scotland.
Karen Spears Zacharias is an American writer, a former journalist, and author of numerous books. She completed an MA in Creative Media Practice at University of the West Scotland’s Ayr Campus in 2022.
For me, Paisley was as much of a historical figure as Carrie. Once a thriving textile centre, time has diminished the town.
I was mesmerized by Paisley’s and Carrie’s shared fates, as both were cut off from that which made them fertile.
It was as if the cries of Carrie echoed in the winds of Paisley.
Why did you choose to study the Creative Media Practice programme at UWS and how did you find out about the course/university?
I was in a graduate studies program at Shepherd University in West Virginia when my advisor Dr. Sylvia Shurbutt recommended I study at UWS. Dr. Shurbutt rightly saw the Creative Media Practice programme as a good fit for someone who has both a journalism and a creative fiction background. She understood that the program would further challenge me, and it did.
What are your memories of studying in Ayr, Scotland?
So many wonderful memories. I loved the ease of public transport via Scot Rail, something we lack terribly in the US. Walks along the beach boardwalk or along the River Ayr. I travelled quite a bit, often to Glasgow, Loch Lomond, Paisley, Peebles, etc. Unfortunately, because I came on the heels of the pandemic, most of my classes were still being held online. But I particularly enjoyed my classes with Elizabeth McLaughlin and Dr. Tony Grace was a keen help and terrific advisor. The librarians on campus were so hospitable and always willing to help me find whatever I needed.
Tell us about your latest novel No Perfect Mothers
No Perfect Mothers is an historical fiction account of Carrie Buck who grew up in 1920s Charlottesville, Virginia. A foster child from Virginia, seventeen and pregnant, the result of a rape by the nephew of her foster parents. To protect their nephew, the foster parents took Carrie to court, had her declared “unfit” to mother, claimed her infant daughter as their own, then had her imprisoned.
Her only crime? Being born a girl into poverty. That alone ensured her voice would never count in a court of law. So, when then Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that she should never again bear a child, Carrie was surgically sterilized.
While hers was not the first forced sterilization carried out by the State of Virginia, it was the legal case that would grant all states permission to forcibly sterilize whomever they determined unfit.
No Perfect Mothers explores characters, historical and imagined, who over the late 1800s to the 1920s were parties to the infamous Buck v. Bell U.S. Supreme Court case of 1927.
Are any of the characters inspired by your time studying in Scotland?
As I was drafting the story, I was also working on my master’s at the University. The writing was influenced by my travels abroad, in particular by the town of Paisley. The character of Black Peter of Paisley is real, as is the town’s history throughout the novel.
For me, Paisley was as much of a historical figure as Carrie. Once a thriving textile centre, time has diminished the town. I was mesmerized by Paisley’s and Carrie’s shared fates, as both were cut off from that which made them fertile. It was as if the cries of Carrie echoed in the winds of Paisley.
Mora, the helper in the novel, is a fictional character inspired by the Midwifery Museum in Glasgow and the poet E.J. Wade, a flatmate of mine and fellow UWS graduate.
Have you already started work on your next project? Can you tell us a bit about that?
My time in Scotland was so memorable that it is the subject of my next book to be released in Spring of 2025 – The Devil’s Pulpit and Other Mostly True Scottish Misadventures (Mercer University Press). This book is a compilation of stories I first worked on with Dr. Tony Grace as part of my Masters programme. It also includes the poetry of E.J. Wade who was also enrolled in the UWS programme at Ayr.
Do you plan to visit Scotland again at any time in the future?
I returned to give a presentation to Dr. Grace’s classes during Fall Semester in October 2023. I plan to return again this coming November and if the U.S. election reinstates Trump to office, I’ll be seeking a way to stay permanently. Do you think the Scots will have me?
I hope to return next year with the new book. I think it will be a fun romp for the Scots to hear about my mostly true misadventures.
Karen’s debut novel Mother of Rain received the Weatherford Award for Best in Appalachian Fiction from The Loyal Jones Appalachian Center at Berea College, Kentucky. In 2018, she was named Appalachian Heritage Writer in 2018 by Shepherd University.
Her work has been featured on National Public Radio, CNN, the New York Times, Washington Post and in numerous anthologies.
Karen lives at the foot of the Cascade Mountains in Deschutes County, Oregon, where she volunteers with the League of Women Voters. Karen taught First-Amendment Rights at Central Washington University and continues to teach at writing workshops around the USA. Learn more about her and her novels at www.karenzach.com
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