Impromptu Brontë walk with poet Emma Conally-Barklem

I had a very impromptu Brontë walk on Saturday with the poet Emma Conally-Barklem. She had come all the way from Yorkshire to Brussels for the weekend with her partner to see Pink! on her Summer Carnival Tour in the King Baudouin stadium and to walk in the footsteps of Charlotte Brontë. 

In one weekend, she managed to combine “meeting” two of her idols: one a hugely popular singer songwriter, real pop royalty from the U.S.; and the other an equally popular novelist who has been dead for more than 150 years, but whose work has lived on and is loved by many generations of readers. 

Emma is not only a poet but also a grief worker and yoga teacher, as well as a published author. She has an MA in Victorian Literature and was a lecturer for thirteen years. Since she grew up in the Yorkshire landscape, the Brontë sisters have always been an important part of her life. 

Luckily, I had time to meet up that particular Saturday morning and it was a real pleasure guiding around someone as passionate about the Brontës as Emma. “Villette” is her favourite novel, so she already knew a lot of the fragments and scenes that we normally discuss on the guided walk. 

Pauline and Emma.

At moments I felt privileged just talking to Emma. We walked from the flea market at the Place du Jeu de Balle to all the Brontë locations in Brussels, and we stopped to admire street art, take photos and read passages from Charlotte’s Brussels novels. After a lovely lunch, we even went to the Cathedral and then made our way down to the city centre, where I could show other places of interest. 

From the very first moment, I sensed that Emma is a warm and kind person, and I'm sure this also shows in the book of poems that she has written: “Hymns from the Sisters” (I just love this title). In this collection of 19 poems, Emma covers different aspects of the Brontës' lives. Her connectedness to and love for the Brontës is something that becomes quite evident when you are talking to her, as well as when you are browsing through her poems. 

Emma with her book.

Author Michael Stewart, who gave an informal talk to our the Brussels Brontë Group last October, wrote about Emma’s book that it is “an eclectic collection which bursts with energy and ideas.” Especially for the readers of our blog we have Emma’s permission to share her poem “Heger” so you can get a taste of her writing (see below). 

If you want to read more, you can find her book on Amazon and via Querencia Press. 

More info on Emma here: https://www.emmaliveyoga.com/.

Pauline Ghyselen