Category Archives: Creative Writing

Talking to tomorrow’s writers at Priory Academy.

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I recently spent an amazing two hours with some sixth-formers at the Priory Academy (LSST) in Lincoln. They’ve just embarked on the first year of their A-Level in Creative Writing.

While I was there I talked to them about the creative writing options available on the English degree at the University, told them a bit about my own career as a poet, read some of my poems and answered some very probing questions. Then I set them to work writing something of their own.

The results were very impressive – great ideas, real creativity and bags of enthusiasm. Not bad considering I gave them less than half an hour to do it in!

Many thanks to Sarah Oliver for organising the session (and to the other members of staff who came along). And special thanks to the writers themselves.

Free membership of Poetry Book Society for students.

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The PBS has launched a free student membership, which is open to all UK higher education students, who can enrol by emailing or sending their proof of student identity to us.

Students can join online and contact will be via email. Once they have enrolled and logged in, student members will be able to view the online version of the Bulletin, our quarterly review of the best new poetry, in the restricted members’ area. They can also order books and receive their 25% members’ discount.

Read more at PBS.

They’re also running a poetry competition for students.

The Black Path free literary event, Wed 23 October.

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Don’t forget that there will be a free reading of work from The Black Path by last year’s students on the MA Creative Writing course.

The reading will take place in MC0025, 12.00 – 1.00, Wednesday 23 October (2013). Work will include poems, flash fiction and extracts from longer pieces.

Everyone welcome.

Poetry & Audience: 60th birthday at Leeds University.

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Prof John Whale holds sculpture by Hubert Dalwood bequeathed to P&A in its early days.

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Saturday, 19 October, 2013

Editors past and present, together with various poets, magazine editors and current students gathered at the School of English at Leeds University to celebrate 60 years of Poetry & Audience.

Poetry & Audience is one of the longest-running poetry magazines in the UK and owes its longevity as much to the frequently crisis-driven student-owned nature of its existence as to the commitment of the School of English. It also forms an integral part of the strong literary tradition of Leeds, which includes JRR Tolkien and poets such as Geoffrey Hill, James Kirkup, Tony Harrison, Ken Smith, Jeffrey Wainwright, Jon Glover, William Price (“Bill”) Turner, Paul Mills and many others.

The anniversary involved a roundtable discussion of poetry magazine publishing, readings by P&A poets and editors and individual accounts of the history of P&A (Michael Blackburn, Elaine Glover, John Goodby, Emma Must, Chris Nield, Antony Rowland, Jeffrey Wainwright).

The event was hosted by Prof John Whale, with sessions chaired by Fiona Becket, Hannah Copley and Emily Timms (who also arranged an exhibition of P&A materials). Many thanks to all of them and anyone who I’ve forgotten to mention.

Participants: Michel Blackburn, Carole Bromley, Elaine Glover, Evan Jones, Paul Maddern, Adam Piette, John Goodby, Jay Parker, Christie Oliver-Hobley, Sarah Webster, Amy Ramsey, Mick Gidley, Elaine Glover, Emma Must, Antony Rowland, Jeffrey Wainwright, Hannah Copley, Eleanor Ford, Daniel Boon.

Current and former students of Lincoln may want to submit work to P&A, of course.

Creative Writing MA students publish their first anthology.

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Students on the 2012-2013 year of the MA in Creative Writing have published an impressive paperback anthology of their own work.

The Black Path 1 (a second collection is nearing completion) comprises poems, flash fiction, short stories and novel extracts written by the students during the course of their studies.

What’s special about the book is that the students took the publishing initiative themselves, building on what they had learned during the MA. All the writing, collation, editing, design, typesetting and marketing is student-driven. Overall Editor is Shirley Bell, already a well-published poet.

The Black Path 1 is 132 pages long and can be bought from Amazon at £6.58.

A reading by contributors to the anthology will take place in the University on Wednesday, 23 October, 12.00 – 1.00 in room MC0025. More details to follow.

Contributors: Shirley Bell, Cassandra Cash, Stephen Blessett, Laura Clipson, Tina Daley, Stewart Norvill, Muayyad Elwaheidi, Jennifer Fytelson, Joel Leverton, Ian Turner, Matt Ellis and Rosemary Temple.

Publishing success for two of our MA Creative Writers.

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Two of our students, Jennifer Fytelson and Shirley Bell, have had poems accepted in magazines.

Jennifer recently had a poem in The Mitre, North America’s oldest literary magaine, published by Bishop’s University in Canada.

Shirley has a poem in a forthcoming issue of The Rialto, one of the UK’s top poetry magazines and publishers.

Congratulations to both of them!

Creative Writing MA grad, Nick, sets up his own online business.

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Nick Beaumont (graduated 2011), has launched his own online business, NPcontent, specialising in content production, SEO-enhancement and advertising copy. Having spent two years in China, Nick is also able to help businesses who are planning to work there.

Take a look at NBcontent.

Fay Weldon speaks up for creative writing.

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I would like to see a new discipline, called simply Literacy, taught in our universities and schools, so that the current outpouring of muddy texts can be replaced by a flow of elegant, informative and crystal-clear information – to the benefit of our national pride and dignity. In the meanwhile employers should note that an employee with a qualification in creative writing can be trusted not just to write simply and well, but to be empathic (the fiction writer spends a lot of time pretending to be other people) so is less likely to write tactless emails and cause a scandal unless intentionally. Creative writing is a degree in the effective management of words and emotion and an understanding of how they relate, and yes, it can be taught. And if I might add, should be.

Source: Fay Weldon in Times Higher Education.