York Literary Review: Tash Curry
Introducing Tash
Where are you from?
I’m originally from York. I’ve lived here all my life but the dream is to move to New York one day and become a famous writer/poet.
What did you study at YSJ?
I studied Film and Media.
Who is your favourite author?
Who is my favourite author you ask? That’s a hard question, I’m torn between three. These authors works have inspired and captivated me over the years of my life.
When I was younger I struggled with reading, never sticking to a book until I was about thirteen. My best friend was reading ‘Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief’ by Rick Riordan and said I should give it a try and leant me his copy. From that day on I was just immersed into the world of Greek mythology which I still love till this day. Mythology has inspired me to write poetry ranging from Achilles to Icarus, and my dissertation was heavily focused on how mythology has changed through different media texts. That series opened up a world of re-tellings and new imaginations of so many stories both classic and new to discover within mythology.
The next author who got me out of my reading rut was Darren Shan. He’s a writer who focuses primarily on young adult horror, writes everything from vampires and demons to zombies. I remember when Waterstones was on the end of Ousegate and my twin sister took me there, and his and his book series ‘The Saga of Darren Shan’ was being made into a film (the film was pretty bad and cut half of it’s material, which in hindsight it should have been made into a tv series like Netflix did with ‘A Series Of Unfortunate Events’). So I picked up the book deciding to give it a go. It was part one of a twelve part series and I couldn’t put it down. At the time there had been so much revolving around vampires with twilight and the vampire diaries but this series gave the genre, in my opinion, new blood with these new versions of vampire.
Last not least Iain S. Thomas. I can’t remember when I stumbled across his work but as a reader and a poet, I’m really glad I did. His words just restate/resonate with you; they did with me in a time in my life where I need to hear those words, especially in his collection of works ‘I Wrote This For You’. Personally I aspire to be able to write a book like his one day, he is definitely one of my writing inspirations.
What are you currently reading?
I literally just finished reading ‘Circe’ by Madeline Miller. The book follows the main character Circe through her life. Circe is the daughter of a titan and retells the story from her perspective: parts of Homer’s Odyssey, the creation of the Labyrinth and the Minotaur, and other well known part of Greek mythology. The book is also being adapted by HBO as an eight part miniseries which I’m excited for.
Currently I’m reading Marvel’s Spider-Gwen omnibus, which is basically all the volumes of the comics collected into one. I’m a big fan of superheroes especially anything Spider-Man related. The series follows Gwen Stacy from an alternate universe, the story being a ‘what if’ Gwen was bitten by the radioactive spider and not Peter Parker. Apart from my comics, I’m just about to start reading Adam Silvera’s book ‘They Both Die At The End’.
What are your top 5 books you’d recommend?
Here is my list of books I’d always recommend:
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
‘name one hero who was happy. you can’t. let me tell you a secret i’m going to be the first’
The book focuses heavily on the relationship of Patroclus and Achilles (who am I kidding the book revolves around them). It’s a reimagining set during the Iliad right through to the Trojan War and is told from Patroclus’ point of view. I won’t give it away but be warned, Miller has written such a beautiful heartbreaking story, I think personally everyone should read once in their life.
I Wrote This For You: 2007 – 2017 by Iain S. Thomas
‘i’m not the person you left behind anymore. there’s no one here to miss’
This poetry book is compiled with ten years of poems and prose. Like I said before, Iain S. Thomas’ words just have this haunting affect of staying with you long after you put the book down. True, some words might not resonate with you. But I can promise you out of all those words, there will be one that will.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
‘forgive me, for all the things i did but mostly for the ones that i did not’
The book follows the protagonist Richard in this howcatchem murder mystery due to the death of his friend ‘Bunny’ when he was at College. The mystery evolves when he reflects on his time there years later, being included into this ‘cult’ like elite classical studies group with his peers which throughout the course of the book not so seamlessly everything starts to fall into place.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
‘we lived in the blank white spaces at the edges of print it gave us more freedom. we lived in the gaps between stories’
With this book, admittedly, I watched the TV series first with my mum, then I bought her the book one Christmas. After she finished reading it, I decided to sit down and see how different it was to the series that had me hooked. The book being set in a dystopian future, as a reader you can see the different parts of history Atwood has pulled from and incorporated into the novel. This makes it even more realistic and terrifying that something like Gilead could happen, or has happened in a smaller scale in some parts of history around the world.
Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
‘look, i didn’t want to be a half-blood’
Personally I’d recommend the whole Percy Jackson series: the stories, the adventures, you get lost with these characters. But we’ll start with the first book of the series which sets up the mythic world and it’s not what you expect, especially Riordan’s interpretation of the Gods. The novel follows the main character Percy finding out he’s a demigod, which kickstarts this adventure of him finding Camp Half-Blood, a safe haven for young demigods. He then dives head first into a prophecy which sets up the quest for finding Zeus’s lost lightning bolt and finding out who the thief is.
What do I do in my spare time?
In my spare time I’m usually playing some game on my PlayStation, reading, writing, binging some tv show (most common than not it’s a murder documentary) and finding the time to see my friends and family.
Where is your favourite place in York?
One of my favourite places in York has to be Brew and Brownie. When I was at YSJ one of my friends worked there and over those three years myself and my friends spent so much time there eat too many brownies and other goodies. That place for me holds many fond memories and to this day has great pancakes. It’s a place if you’re ever in York you need to visit.
YSJ Questions:
Did you enjoy the workshopping available during creative writing seminars and is this something you continue to try to do now?
With studying film and media, I actually didn’t have any workshopping available for me – it was mostly for creative writing students. But with workshopping I’d love to give it a try and see what I’d learn as a writer, what works well for me and what doesn’t.
What’s your favourite memory from your time studying with us?
I think one of my favourite memories from my time at university has to be in my final year. I’d already had a few pieces published in Neutral magazine and in Beyond the Walls the year prior, but the memory I hold dear as a great accomplishment from my time at university is the last pieces of writing I got published in Beyond the Walls which was ‘but i guess somethings are better left unsaid, but you were everything to me then.’
‘There are unfinished stories lying in my room, they were our stories. Old pages just dying there, red ink seeping off the faded parchment, words, memories, history. Just disappearing. We were lost. Some stories never written, it was too hard. It hurt too much. Things I never got to say, written down. Letters I never sent. Answers I would never get. We fade with time, from words from forgotten memories we’d rather forget than keep. Those words I could never forget scared into my memory, ‘I would write about you, about us’. Somehow time forgot, we were lost in decaying pages. In the years to come I would remember us, how we were in the books I would write. The tragedy that we were. The tale that would become us.
I always knew I would write our story, but I never thought it would be so difficult to write down, the memories we had, the kisses we shared, the love we had. The lies we told, the promises we could never keep. The hearts that would soon be broken and the one that would never beat again. Our story was never an easy one; it was rushed, messy and too painful. I put myself through hell for you. I wrote the story I think we could have had, if our timing was different. Maybe in another universe, we end up together. Maybe in another life we were not just stories written among pages of lost love and tragic ends.
I wrote the story of how we died; did Shakespeare take you first just to spite me? There was no heaven or earth just the myth of fate. I know I will write about us, the way we met, the long full looks, the playful smiles, the forbidden kisses, our tragic downfall. The letter I wrote of our ever dying love, the reply that never came. Our fate wasn’t kind; we both knew that, we knew it would be difficult. We were against two different worlds, against ourselves. We were against the gods, the prophecy. As kids we were told our love could overcome anything. Our history would be repeated, it would be for centuries. We will be remembered as the lovers who overcame fate but at the cost of themselves.
I hope history will tell her I’m sorry for all the things I could not do, for all the things I never said.’
– but i guess somethings are better left unsaid, but you were everything to me then.
I was surprised that piece got chosen because it was one of the first proper things I’d written, so I had a few years of distance from these words. But as a writer, it was special knowing even though I wasn’t in that head space anymore or that heartbreak, these words still resonated with people, and reminded them of a time in their life that maybe they needed to hear those words.
This became one of my best memories because it was the fact that the editors that year chose this piece to be feature on the blurb on the back of the book. I will always remember going to the opening night with some friends sand receiving a copy of the Beyond the Walls and finally turning in the cover and turning it in my hands and seeing the line:
‘in the years to come i would remember us, how we were in the books i would write…the tale we would become.’
It was one of the best feelings in the world. I owe a lot to my time at YSJ. It gave me so many happy memories, good friends and it gave me confidence in my writing and my ability to know that the words you write mean something.
What’s your favourite course-based memory from your time studying with us?
If I remember correctly, I think it has to be in my second year in the first semester, and part of the course was Popular Genres with Alan. We were discussing something to do with Game of Thrones and Westworld, probably how they had become wildly popular shows in such a short amount of time. We randomly got onto the topic of films leading into The Hunger Games and one person in the class said something outrageous. Everyone just went silent, you could hear a pin drop and then Alan came back with some funny quip and the room just erupted into laughter. There was so many funny memories I had with our Film and Media lot but also with the tutors, Martin, Alan and Kieth.
Where was your favourite place on campus?
Favourite place on campus has to be the SU, probably a common answer but you’d always go in with your mates to grab a coffee or food before or after a seminar. It was always the go to place.
Writing questions:
What made you want to write or how did you start writing?
Like many people who struggle to communicate their feelings, I kept a journal for a good couple of years. I’m so glad I had that outlet because without it there wouldn’t have been a healthy exchange of expressing myself through words. My journaling then turned into poetry in my later teenage years. Writing for me became therapeutic when struggling to convey and express feelings; it was a safe space to create and heal through words.
I never had that feeling of ‘I need to write’ or ‘ I need to do this’ when I started writing but I think over the years that changed as I did. I needed these words and what I came to realise was it was never healthy to keep anything bottled up inside. The writing became easier when your finally admit to yourself what you’re scared to say and you just write it down anyway, if not for anyone else for your peace of mind.
I really started to write in a pivotal point in my life. I was just starting to fully realise who I was at eighteen in terms of my gender, I was going through a sort of break up, and friends were growing up and sadly growing apart. At that age it’s such a huge part of your life. It wasn’t easy at first when writing because sometimes words don’t come and what you write doesn’t always make sense or comes across the way you intended. But there’s a beauty in that, with the art you create.
What sort of thing do you like to write? Please give as much or as little detail as you like.
I write a lot of poetry and prose. I think it’s very personal for me because, like I said before, I find writing an easier way to express my thoughts and feelings. It’s very therapeutic for me to be able to write something down and it’s a way for me to let things go. As a writer I’m very drawn to tragedy I don’t know what that says about me as a person but I’d also like to say I’m a hopeless romantic. I’ve got a good combo going on when I write.
How did you find out about the York Literary Review and why did you submit work?
I first found out about the York Literary Review when I was in my final year at University and I think at the time they didn’t accept work from students (don’t quote me on this. I feel like if they did I would have submitted some work). Fast forward to this year’s review, one of my friends from university actually shared an Instagram post about them accepting submissions and I thought it’s been a while let’s give it ago and try my luck. I wanted to submit my work because I always feel like with an authors writing either it be fiction, another form of creative writing or poetry someone out there needs to hear those words or these words needs to be out there for someone to find.
What did you submit, and did the team suggest any edits to it for the anthology?
For the anthology I submitted three themed pieces revolving around time or memory. The first one ‘maybe i was never meant to fall in love’ was inspired by the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), the second ‘i fear that time can’t heal the heartbreak of you’ and finally the piece the team chose to publish ‘darling you haunt me, but tell me do i haunt you still?’ . When it came to editing process, the team wanted a few little tweaks of certain words being repeated. But, they were great and gave me solid feedback which I always appreciate as a writer because they have a non-biased view, whereas as a writer you become attached and don’t always see that a piece could flow better.
How did you feel when they said they were publishing your submission? Did you celebrate?
Funny story I actually missed the first email when they told me they wanted to publish my poem. But when I read the email to say they were wanting my piece to be featured in the Review, I was over the moon. I had been submitting different pieces to different publications over the past few months during the pandemic with no luck and to get that email, just gave me the motivation to keep trying. Rejection doesn’t mean that your writing doesn’t matter or the words don’t resonate with people. It might just be that it doesn’t fit what the publication was looking for at that moment. I celebrated my publication with my family and friends.
What do you think of the anthology itself?
I actually loved reading the anthology. Anthologies like this one are packed with so many writers and so many different forms of writing. You never know what you’re going to get when you turn a page. And just seeing others work it’s inspiring and it’s a great way to celebrate so many different voices.
Have you been published anywhere else?
I’ve been published only when I was at university with Beyond the Walls and Neutral magazine, but it wasn’t with the lack of trying to get published anywhere else. But I am grateful to the publications that have given me a chance to show my work.
Are there any publications you’d like to be published in?
I haven’t got any that comes to mind. But thinking about it, I would love to be featured in a publication for LGBTQ+ writer. Being trans/nonbinary myself, it would be an honour to be featured with other writes like myself.
What’s your writing process? For example, do you plot everything first, only write after a cup of coffee, write for 15 minutes a day, get frequent workshopping etc.
My writing process is me sitting at my desk with a cup of tea, a good playlist in the background and my journal which portably has little snippets or lines from staying up too late the night before being struck with inspiration just as I’m about to fall asleep. I have found that I can’t sit for hours writing so I’m probably sat for two hours max.
Next Steps
Are you writing anything currently? If so, where do want the writing to ‘end up’?
Currently I’m writing a poetry book which I’d love to get it published when it’s finished. I’ve also got a poetry blog under the name ‘tash writes’ and you’ll find some of my work on there which I’m trying to be more consistent with.
Do you work a ‘day job’ alongside your writing career? If so, what do you do and did your time at YSJ give you skills for the role?
I’ve been juggling my day job ever since I was at university with my writing. With my job though I’ve met so many amazing people and made some life long friends that I’m forever grateful for and they’re all so supportive of my writing. When at YSJ, my time there taught me skills I’ve needed over the years like team building, critical thinking, problem solving and being able to take constructive criticism. But the one think university helped me with, which I know will probably sound cheesy and very cliché, but it helped me find myself and to be more comfortable in my own skin.
What’s your writing dream? For example, to publish a novel or poetry collection, have your work adapted for TV etc.
My dream when it comes to writing is that I hope one day I’ll have a whole range of poetry out in the world and a poetry collection. But until that dream I’ll focus on the smaller one, to finish writing my novel and work towards getting that published. And that’s the great thing about dreams. When I started writing at seventeen I never thought it would amount to this. I was young, struggling to communicate how I felt, so unsure just figuring myself out, and writing helped. And now, years later, I’ve got a couple of publications under my belt working towards a dream I never could have imagined. It’s definitely not what I expected when I left sixth form or university but now I could never imagine my life without writing.
What are your next steps? For example, submitting to competitions or magazines, writing a novel manuscript.
The aim for the rest of the year and so forth is to keep submitting poetry to other competitions or magazines and just to keep writing.
Do you have any writing advice you’d like to share?
The writing advice I’d share with any other budding writer out there is: just don’t give up on your dream not matter how big or small it might be. Just keep working hard. It might take years to get where you want to be but the amount of great stuff you’ll come up with in that time is worth it. Also keep writing daily even if it might even just be a line of a poem, that one line might just turn into the thing that starts your career. You’ll write things that you won’t like, trust me, I know but it’s a process, you’ll find the right words. I just hope to all the new and old writers personally we keep writing the things that matter but also just to enjoy creating.
