Ro Skelton, "“Naow’s Boutique” (Fall, 2025)

About this episode

Ro Skelton discusses her essay 'Naow’s Boutique' and her writing focus on gardening in unconventional spaces.

Ro Skelton speaks to Emily Everett about her essay “Naow’s Boutique,” which appears in The Common’s fall issue. The essay explores Ro’s time living and working in Dakar, where she formed a friendship in her neighborhood that eventually led to a sense of community, and then a community garden, and then a lifelong friendship. Ro also discusses how the essay fits into her focus as a writer – writing about gardening in unconventional spaces – and her memoir-in-progress on the subject, Easement. Ro Skelton is a writer and gardener from Scotland. She is currently working on her first book, Easement, a memoir about mental health, queer parenting, and radical acts of gardening. Her work has appeared in Four Way Review, Waxwing, New Ohio Review, and Ecotone. Previously a reporter in West Africa and a member of an ocean-going rescue crew, she now lives and gardens on the Isle of Mull. ­­Read the essay in The Common here. Learn more about Ro and her work at here. The Common is a print and online literary magazine publishing stories, essays, and poems that deepen our collective sense of place. On our podcast and in our pages, The Common features established and emerging writers from around…

People in this episode

Host: Emily Everett

Guest: Ro Skelton

Topics covered

• community gardening
• memoir writing
• friendship
• mental health
• queer parenting

Keywords

• Ro Skelton
• Naow’s Boutique
• Easement
• gardening
• community
• memoir
• mental health
• queer parenting

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Common

Books & works: Naow’s Boutique, Easement

Places: Scotland, Dakar, Isle of Mull

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