East Midlands Arts' Literature Newsletter
NEWS
WRITE AWAY
East Midlands Arts’ Residential Retreats. A programme of Residential Writing Courses for writers of all levels. Situated in beautiful surroundings, the venue for the 1999 programme is Stanford Hall, near Loughborough, Leicestershire. Easily accessible by road and rail, the venue will provide single bedrooms with en-suite facilities and full catering for all courses. You don’t have to be an established writer to benefit from a writers’ retreat. The only qualification you need to attend a ‘Write Away’ course is a commitment to and an enthusiasm for writing.
Starting to Write: November 19-21 1999. Tutors: Amanda Dalton & Alicia Stubbersfield. A course designed to help writers get started. An introductory weekend focusing on poetry and fiction writing, ideal for beginners or for those with some writing experience wishing to experiment with different writing styles.
Shadowork - Poetry and Performance: November 26-28 1999. Tutors: Martyn Crucefix & Mario Petrucci. ShadoWork explores the effects of performing and working collaboratively with poetry and other texts. Two members of the ShadoWork team, Martyn Crucefix and Mario Petrucci will tutor this weekend, which will offer readings, dramatic performances, creative tuition and experimental workshops. Even if you don’t think of yourself as a performer, you will find this course provides new perspectives on your written work.
Writing to Sell (NEW!): December 10-12 1999. Tutors: Mary Hooper and Barbara Jacobs. Writing To Sell will appeal to those who have a burning desire to see their work in print. While covering all aspects of fiction and non fiction writing, the course will also give participants the chance to take part in specialised workshops in children's fiction and magazine feature-writing if they wish. Individual tuition, group sessions, and an exciting hot-house atmosphere of frantic re-writing, readings, and sound practical insider advice should refresh and reinvigorate those with some experience of writing, and inspire those who have always wanted to try but never dared.
Fees and Grants: The course fee for a Write Away course which includes meals, accommodation and tuition is £109. Priority will be given in the first instance to applicants living in the East Midlands Arts funding region. For further details and a booking form contact Arts Training Central, 31-33 The Hollins, 16 New Street, Leicester LE1 5NJ, tel: (0116) 2425202 or Lisa Pacynko, East Midlands Arts, Mountfields House, Epinal Way, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 0QE, tel: (01509) 218292.
ISLAND VOICES
There is a mounting excitement and a great sense of expectation as the visit of the writers for Island Voices III gets closer. The writers have been chosen, Iceland’s Arni Ibsen, Ireland’s Adrian Kenny and Sara Maitland from Northamptonshire. We are particularly pleased to have on board Sherry Natural, one of Jamaica’s foremost dub poets. She has a string of awards to her name and has recently finished working with the legendary Muta Bharaka.
The writers are due to arrive in the East Midlands on October 4th and end their stay on 12th December. In between there is a kaleidoscope of events and engagements that have been set in place. The programme aims to be flexible and responsive to the writers’ needs so there is a sense of avoiding "setting things in stone". Nevertheless the programme for this year shows a great deal of variety and innovation and already seems to have caught people’s imaginations.
Some of the many highlights around the region include an internet project with trAce which will culminate in an event at The Broadway Cinema, Nottingham. New Perspectives Theatre Company have joined with Nottingham Playhouse to present a rehearsed reading of the play by Arni Ibsen. Charnwood Arts will be working with all the Island Voices writers over the period of the residency to create a unique publication. Leicester’s African Caribbean Centre will host the dub poet Sherry Natural in an event that will link her with Mbala, one of the original writers from Jamaica who took part in the inaugural Island Voices. Derby will present an opportunity for Sherry to share the platform with Linton Kwesi Johnson. Amongst the events scheduled in Northamptonshire will be a performance in Camrose Sculpture Park and Lincolnshire have programmed events involving all the writers via the Central Seven library series. A celebratory performance and party will take place at The Y, Leicester, to bring Island Voices to a memorable close on December 11th.
Essential to the aims of Island Voices is the workshop programme and its not too late to put forward your ideas for groups for the writers to work with. Workshops already being planned include Leicester Adult Education College, Rampton Prison, Derby’s Mandela Community Centre and Northampton’s Derngate Theatre.
As well as flagging up the programme this publication provides an opportunity to thank East Midlands Arts Officers and the Island Voices Steering Group who have provided valuable support for the project and the Literature Development Officers, who are out there in the field literally spreading the word. Their networks have been vital to the development of the project.
The launch is on Wednesday October 6th at Loughborough Town Hall where the poet James Berry OBE will be amongst the guest speakers. You can expect more surprises and events along the way throughout the East Midlands region as we celebrate - for further details of the Island Voices programme see the forthcoming brochure or ring Tony Graves on 0589 130538.
Island Voices is supported by the National Lottery through the Arts Council of England, De Montfort and Loughborough Universities with support from East Midlands Arts.
Tony Graves
CONGRATULATIONS
Foreword congratulates local writer Chris D'Lacey whose writing for children has been highly commended in the recent Carnegie Medal awards. Congratulations also go to Lesley Gleeson from Wigston, who has been awarded one of the top prizes in the Mencap Literary Prizes competition for short stories.
