Women and the Creative Life, with Kasia Van Schaik

What happens when the people most likely to care for everyone else finally decide to make space for their own creative work?

In this episode of The Resilient Writers Radio Show, I’m joined by Kasia Van Schaik, author of the linked story collection We Have Never Lived on Earth and the new hybrid memoir and work of cultural criticism, Women Among Monuments: Solitude, Permission, and the Pursuit of Female Genius.

Kasia’s book began with a question she had carried since girlhood: Where are the women among monuments?

That question led her into the lives of women writers and artists, including Virginia Woolf, Mary Shelley, Gertrude Stein, Toni Morrison, Bernadette Mayer, and many others. 

It also led her to the story of Elena Cornaro Piscopia, the first woman in the world to earn a PhD. In 2022, a proposal to place Piscopia’s statue in a public square in Padua, alongside statues of celebrated male thinkers and artists, was met with fierce resistance.

Why are women’s achievements still so difficult for some people to recognize? And what does that resistance reveal about the way we understand creative genius?

Kasia and I explore those questions while looking closely at what it takes for women to build and sustain creative lives.

We talk about the guilt that can arise when women step away from caregiving, housework, emotional labour, or professional responsibilities to write. 

Even when time has been deliberately set aside, it can feel pressured or selfish. Instead of entering the writing space freely, we may feel that every minute has to produce something impressive.

Kasia shares how different writers protected their creativity. Toni Morrison worked during the quiet hours before sunrise. Gertrude Stein boldly claimed the mantle of genius for herself. Bernadette Mayer found poetry in the ordinary details of motherhood and domestic life, showing that the creative and “uncreative” parts of our lives do not always need to be separated.

We also unpack the complicated history of the word “genius.” It can feel exclusive, grandiose, and even a little cringe. Kasia offers another way to understand it: not as a title reserved for a chosen few, but as a capacity someone possesses. 

You might have a genius for language, storytelling, observation, humour, or seeing connections others miss.

Our conversation also moves into literary awards, genre fiction, imposter syndrome, rejection, and the importance of creative community. Recognition can help a writer feel that they belong, but awards are subjective and limited. They cannot be the only measure of whether our work matters.

Ultimately, sustaining a creative life requires persistence and permission. It may mean protecting your brightest hours, creating a small ritual, joining a writing group, or continuing to submit your work after another rejection.

If you’ve been waiting for proof that your writing deserves your time, this conversation is for you. Listen now for an honest, encouraging reminder that your creative work matters, and you are allowed to make room for it.