Q&A with Cam Anthony

What makes a house a dream house? Is there anything more delightfully chaotic than a bunch of strangers trying to merge their lives together under one roof? And, of course, is there any place quite like Galway? Roisin Sheerin and Cam Anthony dig into these topics in this interview about Anthony’s recently published nonfiction piece “Specimens.”

I think this is a brilliant, funny piece that captures the world of shared student accommodation unflatteringly and succinctly. Did you exaggerate or play it down or is exactly as is/was?

Specimens is my true experience living with 11 other girls in a student house-share. Most of what I wrote about happened in the wintertime, a point where we all accepted that we were living together, but when tensions were still high depending on the day. It was sometimes a battle to discern whether an incident was a minor inconvenience that would pass, or one that would grow into a larger problem. However, what I’ve written feels quite tame in comparison to some of the horror stories I hear about accommodation in Galway.

To be honest, living in this house-share over the past year was both chaotic and mundane. On one end, you’re constantly colliding with the house itself and with the other people living inside. The stresses of a dilapidated house, different cultures and habits, homesickness, opposing personalities, jobs wedged in between classes, and so much more, make for a concoction of interesting scenarios to play out. It felt like we were specimens in a housing crisis experiment; put a bunch of random people in a slowly deteriorating home and see their interactions. Will they start to resent each other? How quickly? On the other end, the days started to blend. Chaos was just the new normal. All throughout, I was keenly aware of how lucky I was to have a consistent roof over my head.

Was your family worried about you or did they think the experience might be character building in a good way?

We always tried to focus on the potential positives of living with so many people because I was just so grateful to find somewhere to stay in Galway. Every university student in Ireland has their own experience with the housing crisis. Personally, I was so stressed about finding housing in Galway and my family only understood the surface of that. When I was offered a tiny room in this house, I felt so lucky. It’s natural to have ups and downs living with so many people, but I was committed to making it work. If anything, I was most excited by the possibility of finding life-long friends, and I absolutely did.

Are you still studying in Galway? Have you changed address? Is the house still standing?

I have just finished my studies this fall. The house is still standing, and I renewed my lease for another year. Funny enough, I toured a different apartment with a few of my former housemates. The landlord of that apartment lived in our house a long time ago. He lived in my room. At first, I thought, what are the chances? But this house used to be a bed-and-breakfast before becoming a student house-share so maybe the chances are much higher than I thought.

Ultimately, I decided to stay because it didn’t feel like it was time to let go of my space here. The house feels very different though. Many of my housemates moved to different parts of the city or returned to their homes outside of Ireland. A new group of students will filter into each of the rooms very soon. It’ll be weird having a completely different group of people in the same space, but I am curious to see who moves in. Maybe I’ll write about it again, who knows?

Did different nationalities tend to band together? There seem to have been a few American house sharers, or did you mix equally?

I think everyone in the house was quite excited and nervous to meet people from around the world. We all tried early on to try and connect with each other. Everyone was also so willing to share parts of their culture that our nationalities rarely felt like a dividing factor. There were four Americans, all from different backgrounds. It was nice to have comfort in not being the only one, without feeling like you just transplanted your hometown over to Ireland.

Over time, people started to find the ones that they really vibed with. For me, it usually stemmed from the shared spaces in the house. I was constantly making my meals at the same time as some others in the house. You get to know each other as you wait for your food to cook, and by that point, you might as well just keep chatting while you’re eating. Next thing I knew, we were celebrating birthdays and finding new places together.

Any lasting friendships from your student accommodation days?

Absolutely. We all grew to appreciate each other. It was eerie and unsettled for the last month that everyone was together because we all felt that the end was coming. It was difficult to see each person move out of the house. Each time someone moved out, the house felt different without them. There’s a group of us that are still living in Galway. Everyone is scattered around town, about 15 minutes apart from each other so we’ll keep in touch. They’re all very curious to read what I’ve written about the house, as well as who will move into their former rooms.

What were/are your studies? What are your hopes for afterwards?

I just finished my master's in writing at the University of Galway. I focused heavily on non-fiction writing. I have my sights on finishing collection of nonfiction essays. I loved my time at the University of Galway because I felt almost like it gave me permission to write all of the time. The winter was the best; I spent a lot of time typing at my desk in my little yellow bedroom. The lecturers were amazing, and I felt very inspired by the other students in the programme. I feel well-equipped to keep writing now that the programme has finished. In the meantime, I hope to stay in Galway as long as I can.

Where would you like to live most? What would be your dream house?

There’s no place I’d rather be than Galway. The city is always buzzing, and in the moments where you need a bit of quiet, you can walk by the water. I have been spoiled by living near the water here. If there’s any hint of sunshine, I’m basking in it as well.

In terms of a dream house, I don’t need much. I find myself more interested in the dynamics and people that live inside homes than the physical characteristics of one. But, whenever I walk around Galway and see the different houses, I am drawn to ones that are covered in ivy on the outside because they always feel more lived in.

I feel I didn't refer to the elephant in the room which is Ireland's housing shortage and the student accommodation crisis in particular. What are your true feelings about landlords, and in some cases criminals conducting scams and taking advantage of desperate students? Is the situation anywhere near as chronic in the U.S.? Any suggestions on what it might take to reduce the shortage and the exploitation?

I think it’s unfortunate that many resort to taking advantage of the lack of housing regulations to profit off of people attempting to build a future for themselves. If you wouldn’t accept a situation for yourself or your loved ones, why impose it on other people? I believe that the accommodation crisis here causes people to turn on each other out of desperation, when we shouldn’t be in these circumstances to begin with. A Daft property that has popped up within the last hour might have hundreds if not thousands of views. It feels like you’re in line waiting for some luck to have roof over your head. In the U.S., there’s definitely a shortage of affordable housing, especially in our biggest cities. Ireland is on a different level though. It demonstrates how broken the system is everywhere, and I hope that it can become more equitable in the future through regulation and stabilization.

Who are your literary influences, who have you enjoyed reading?

My biggest literary influence has been Jia Tolentino. The way that she finds and interprets facets of American culture has never failed to amaze me. I initially read her essays in The New Yorker about the Juul and ‘Instagram face’. I just couldn’t get enough. Anytime I have writer’s block, I go for a walk and listen to the audiobook of Trick Mirror. She visited Galway recently and I was trying not to tell everyone I knew about it.

My non-fiction lecturer at the University of Galway was Roisin Kiberd and her work resonates with me. I’ve read several of her essays, and getting to hear her talk about the process of ideating, writing, and editing them offered a different perspective than I typically got when reading. I love how her brain works. She’s such a massive inspiration for me and I’ll read anything she puts out.

What are you working on currently?

I just finished my master's in writing where I put forth the best non-fiction and fiction that I could muster. My brain needs a small break, but then I will get back to work on a collection of non-fiction essays that picks up on a project I started during my undergrad. In that project, I have travelled to talk to psychics and mediums in vastly different spiritual contexts to talk about life, death, and grief. How can we reconcile what they say with what we know to be true? It’s been a long project, but that’s a blessing.