poetry Archives - Where Ideas Grow

by Rebecca Tamás - January 9, 2020January 9, 2020

Poetry Competition Opportunity for Students!

Dial-a-Poem Competition 2020!

Dial-a-Poem, a new nationwide student poetry competition, is now open for entries for telephonic poems competing for a chance to win up to £500 in National Book Tokens and publication.

In partnership with Nottingham Trent University, the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the BT Archives and the Science Museum, and judged by award-winning poet Jane McKie, the competition calls out for poems which – directly or indirectly – engage with the idea of calling.

The original Dial-a-Poem was launched by the late John Giorno fifty years ago, and the service – via which users called in to hear recordings of work by essential and provocative poets of the time – will be reconfigured in the digital age by way of a mobile app for launch in 2020. Winners of the Dial-a-Poem competition will be offered the chance to record their poem for the Dial-a-Poem app and a sound installation in the City of Nottingham, joining a roster of celebrated international poets.

Deadline for entries is 10 February 2020. https://url4.mailanyone.net/v1/?m=1iYBYY-000AzY-5D&i=57e1b682&c=XdMCRhdIJbKBQQaHPPpaA1OKgUyksMsEaqw-EawCWsHhAQhm_5oWwG8G8WLAFjlKluowP7xY-nOGmATEPYkXLdchnkm0MYlua0K_0Ip75OSwVOtVhTuPAX3GiYK55UXe2P4OWxMaaQtdJ6dTNw-gU6cnNio38OW_q-5W1sRtied–5_OPaRDx1GpLB7husK7hLvGd2RJ1kWESwJm5O_BZgptowFFnKdtoeIQ1r8sSWNOXqigMjpdExmCpOnpsLebkRegIJcg2Y_Ul03Ic6iqkQ

crossedlines.co.uk
@criticalpoetics

by CHARLOTTE CRAWSHAW - December 20, 2019January 7, 2020

Winter Lights

Guest writer Alfie Edge gives us a Christmas poem for this festive season.

Turn on the winter lights,

To guide through afternoon shadows.

Crunching feet in pillow snow

passing steamed pub windows.

Underneath winter lights,

Innocence illuminated

the blurred buzz of mistletoe risk;

My heart, Lord’s a leaping.

Tell the warm winter lights:

to bury my heart in Christmas

and melt the cold earth around,

Until next year, my love.

by CHARLOTTE CRAWSHAW - November 27, 2019December 5, 2019

Will Harris’ Poetry Series Review

Hannah Petch reviews The York Centre for Writing Poetry Series event, with Poet Will Harris!

On Monday 25th November I attended the second event of this semester’s poetry series; a reading and Q&A with poet Will Harris.

Will Harris is a writer of mixed Anglo-Indonesian heritage, born and based in London. He has worked in schools, led workshops at the Southbank Centre and teaches for The Poetry School. Harris kicked off the evening with a few readings before partaking in a Q&A with Caleb Klaces.

Prior to that evening I hadn’t read any of his poetry, however hearing him read aloud definitely made me want to buy a copy of his book. My favourite was a poem set in Wetherspoons, which Harris claimed he didn’t read out that often, as it required a lot of energy. And it was definitely energetic! It was really interesting as a Creative Writing student to hear a poem like that, it seemed more like a piece of theatre than a poem; it definitely gave me a lot of inspiration in terms of my own poetry. His poem ‘Another Life’ was also really interesting and sparked a lot of questions in the Q&A that followed. Harris wrote the poem after being shortlisted for a poetry prize against another poet, whose politics he did not agree with, and then subsequently lost out to that poet. It raised a lot of questions about prize culture and, as poets, who we write for. There was an interesting discussion about whether we ever write anything just for ourselves, or do we always write with the knowledge and intention of it being read by other people?

Overall, it was a fantastic evening. Will Harris is an excellent poet, his first full poetry collection ‘RENDANG’ is forthcoming in 2020, I would definitely recommend keeping an eye out for it.

Will Harris’ first full poetry collection ‘RENDANG’ comes out February 2020.

There are also more events coming up in the poetry series next semester to coincide with the York Literature Festival with some fantastic poets, including Fran Lock and Mary-Jean Chan, already confirmed.

Find Will Harris on twitter or on his website for more information about his upcoming release and more of his exciting poetry!

by a.curtis - August 3, 2016

Aesthetica Competition

There is just one month left to enter the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award 2016, presenting an opportunity for emerging and established writers and poets to showcase their work and further their involvement in the literary world. Now in its 10^th year, the award is an internationally renowned prize presented by Aesthetica Magazine and judged by literary experts.

Prizes include:

£500 each (Poetry Winner and Short Fiction Winner)
Publication in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual
One year subscription to Granta
Selection of books courtesy of Bloodaxe and Vintage
Consultation with Redhammer Management (Short Fiction Winner)
Full Membership to The Poetry Society (Poetry Winner)

Short Fiction entries should be no more than 2,000 words. Poetry entries should be no more than 40 lines. Works previously published are accepted.

Deadline for submissions is 31 August 2016.

To enter, visit www.aestheticamagazine.com/cwa

by a.curtis - July 26, 2016July 26, 2016

Say Owt Poetry Slam!

Say Owt Slam

Poets are invited to perform no more than 3 minutes of material, and the audience vote for their favourite poet. It’s exciting, it’s raw ad it’s challenging and an exciting way to test your writing and performance, or to come as an audience member to see other poets reading their work. There’s cash prize too!

Say Owt Slam takes place at The Basement, York and has been praised as one of the most exciting spoken word nights not just in York, but across the UK.

Entry is £7, or free for slammers. For more information or a slot, email sosyork@hotmail.com or find us on Facebook www.facebook.com/sayowtslam

Say Owt #11 24^th Sept featuring guest poet Scott Tyrrell

Say Owt #12 12^th Nov featuring guest poet Vanessa Kisuule

Say Owt #13 2nd Dec featuring guest poet Rob Auton

by jessica.osborne - March 13, 2016

York St John Con – Lit Fest Review

Zine Workshop – 4/5

The short creative workshop was a great start to the day full of creativity. Not a lot of literature is about getting you hands dirty, but this workshop really helped set the tone for the creative nature of the day and got everyone involved waking up! The crafty nature of this exercise was a great way to meet other people too, everyone sat around tables having to share scissors and glue definitely got the ball rolling, This was a great experience that I would recommend to anyone, artistic or not, it’s just great fun!

Poetry & Comics Workshop – 4/5

The creative skills only carried on for the next section of the con. Exploring the works of visual poetry and what exactly a poem or a comic really is was a great discussion that almost certainly sparked debates between everyone attending. With even more cutting and sticking of some famous poems and even a Wikipedia article (and some daunting drawing) everyone got to share their work which made it that little bit more fun! Though there was two hours though there wasn’t much chance to go rogue and create your own thing, it was quite structured, but hopefully everyone is sitting at home creating their own poetry comics.

Video Games and Story Roundtable – 4/5

This enthralling discussion about the relationship between game play and story managed to get everyone thinking in new ways about the nature of gaming and game media. The talk discussed issues such as how much the player is allowed to impress on the character, comparing very in depth characters to the more generic ones and which pulls you into the story more. Whilst some of the blogging team were debating the use of “video” in the term video games, the experts were teaching a whole new viewpoint on how to read the gaming universe!

This section was written by Jonathan Ford who kindly covered our blogging team lunch break!!

Keynote Event: Bryan and Mary Talbot – 5/5

Bryan and Mary, both amazing artists, discussed their works in graphic novels as well as several riveting themes and events throughout history. Bryan discussed his work Grandville and the anthropomorphic traditions in history and art which was an excellent experience and made everyone question some beloved childhood characters! Whilst Mary discussed the historical basis for her upcoming The Red Virgin and the Vision of Utopia (due out May 2016) and some lucky audience members and bloggers managed to get copies (!!!) no spoilers will be shared here though! It’s definitely worth a read! The two speakers were available at the end of the session for a chat and to sign their graphic novels as well as Bryan gracing the pages with a quick sketch for the reader.

Fan-Fic: Open Mic 4/5

The first annual YSJ Con concluded with the sharing of peoples own fan-fiction, Hosted by local poet Henry Raby. Many brave writers stepped forward to share work inspired by their favorite books, films, video games and even Dragons! The work shared was well written and showed the writers passion for the characters and stories they wrote about including, Red Vs Blue, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Les Miserables and Chinese Gods. Controversial yet lighthearted conversations arose about fictional worlds including The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and the setting of Pokemon. The session ended the day on a high. The only way it could have been better is if more people were willing to share their work. Hopefully next year more people will come forward.

by lizzie.key - March 12, 2016

Writing and the Natural World: Kathleen Jamie and William Atkins

Rating: 4/5

Review:

Writing and The Natural World was the first event of the York Literature Festival held at York St John and also the first free event of the festival. The panel was hosted by Naomi Booth and consisted of prose writer William Atkins and award winning poet and non-fiction writer Kathleen Jamie. Both writers read extracts from their books which spoke about the Natural World. Atkins’ read from his first book The Moor (2014). The book takes the reader on a journey across the moors of England exploring both their history and their present beauty as well their relationship with man. Atkins is currently working on an account of desert journeys to be published in 2018. Kathleen Jamie read an extract from her book Sightlines: A Conversation with the Natural World (2012) in which she explores her native Scottish landscapes. The extract she shared was the story of four Killer Whales swimming amongst Seals in the most northern part of the Hebrides which she watched with great excitement and wrote very vividly. She also shared three other poems from her extensive collection of work. At the end there was a short Q&A in which both writers voiced their discomfort with being labelled as ‘Nature Writers’ as they believe it limits their writing topics, instead the prefer to be known as ‘Travel Writers’.

The most striking thing about the talk was the idea of “Don’t research: Encounter” a beautiful piece of advice for any aspiring writer hoping to write nature or anything else!

by jessica.osborne - March 11, 2016

Next Week at the York Lit Fest!

Here’s a quick list Just to remind you all what’s going on next week in the lit fest! Be sure to book tickets before they all go – free events for YSJ students will be in bold!

Monday 14th March

We’re not in Kansas Anymore: Creating Engaging Worlds in Fiction Writing – King’s Manor, 10am to 12noon (£8)
Literary Walk – Museum Gardens – 10:30am to 12noon (£6/£5 pay on the day)
U A Fanthorpe: Berowne’s Book – Quaker Meeting House, 7.30pm to 9.15pm (£5)
Tanya Landman, Carnegie Medal Winner – St Peter’s School, 6.30pm to 7.30pm
Writing Comedy: The Art of Stand Up – Temple Hall YSJ, 7pm to 8.30pm

Tuesday 15th March

Stalin’s Englishman – The Lives of Guy Burgess – York Explore Library and Archive, 2pm to 3pm (£6)
Margaret Drabble in Conversation – St Peter’s School, 7pm to 8.30pm (£7)

Wednesday 16th March

Sci-Fi Workshop with Adam Roberts – Skell 037 YSJ, 2pm to 4pm
Why Sci-Fi Conquered the World (And What You Can Do to Stop It!) – Fountains Lecture Theatre YSJ, 7pm to 8pm
Professor Steve Jones: Why Genetics Matters – St Peter’s School, 7pm to 8.30pm
Dave and Miles’ Rumbustuous Book Quiz! – City Screen Basement, 8pm to 10pm (£3)

Thursday 17th March

Writing The Sonnet with Lizzi Linklater – King’s Manor, 10am to 12noon (£8)
The Frigate Anthology Launch Event – Quaker Meeting House, 4pm to 6pm (£5)
John O’Farrell: There’s Only Two David Beckhams A Football Fantasy – St Peter’s School, 7pm to 8.30pm (£7)
Student Showcase – Quad South Hall YSJ, 7pm to 9pm

Friday 18th March

Uncut Cords: Changing Families, Changing Carers – Quaker Meeting House, 2pm to 4pm (£3)
Poetry and Migration – Temple Hall YSJ, 7pm to 8.30pm
Vince Cable: After the Storm – St Peter’s School, 7pm to 8.30pm (£7)

Saturday 19th March

Pennine Poets 50th Birthday Party – Black Swan, 1pm to 3pm (£3)
York Literature Festival/York Mix Poetry Competition Results – Black Swan, 3.30pm to 5.30pm
No More Champagne: Politicians and Their Money – St Peter’s School, 7pm to 8.30pm (£7)
Austen Society Lecture: Jane Austen’s Emma in Context – Quaker Meeting House, 2pm to 3pm (£8)

Sunday 20th March

Family Day – York Explore Library and Archives, 11am to 4pm, (£2)

For more information look here. For tickets look here, and register to see individual events! Hope to see you there!

by jessica.osborne - March 4, 2016March 4, 2016

Next Week at the York Lit Fest!

To get you all pumped for the Lit Fest we’re going to tell you everything that’s going on before every week! Enough time for you to grab tickets and make arrangements to see some awesome literature being performed, spoken about, and maybe even write some! (Events that are free for YSJ students will be in bold)

Thursday 10th March

VIP Festival Launch: York Stories – At the York Theatre Royal three novelists will discuss setting their novels in York! Check out how York shapes modern literature for just £10 with food and wine included.

Friday 11th March

Writing and the Natural World – A reading and discussion on writing the natural world with contemporary authors Kathleen Jamie and William Atkins! Catch this event at York St John in Temple hall at 7pm!
Saw Owt Slam Presents: International Women’s Week Word Riot – Held at the City Screen Basement you can explore the wonders of feminist poetry with headliner Sophia Walker and even some local poets, before signing up for the open mic and sharing your own poems. Just £7 for this inspiring event
Right Here, Write Now – Fancy seeing a performance where you write the script? Come see the comedic hilarity of improvisation, simply give them suggestions to act out and enjoy. Hosted by Paul Birch at the Frigate theatre this event is only £5, a bargain night for comedy.
Michael Portillo – Michael Portillio, former politician now broadcaster, talks about his exciting career in the media, but mostly, there will be talk of trains! This event is held at the National Railway Museum, a great day out for any train lovers!

Saturday 12th March

York Novelists Workshop: From Ideas to Publication – This is a must attend for the creative students! Held at Bennett’s Cafe and Bistro see how to transform your ideas into print.
York St John Con – The event we’ve all been waiting for! Held in Temple Hall the YSJ Con will be filled with great experiences all day including; a Zine Workshop, Poetry and Comics Workshop, and even a Fan Fic Opem Mic. If you fancy sharing your embarrassing Harry Potter fan fiction, give it a go!
Hoglets – An adorable event for children (and their parents) aged 2 to 5, a mixture of songs games and crafts to introduce kids to the theatre, held at the Frigate Theatre.
How NOT to submit your manuscript – Exactly what it says on the box. Three of the UK’s leading literary agents will tell you how to get your novel published, as well as how not to! Complete with a Q&A this event is held at the Frigate Theatre, so all unpublished writers should check it out!
Wendy Cope – Come see one of Britain’s most popular poets discuss her work and her life. A great event for fans or anyone interested in poetry held at the Grand Opera House.
Bedtime Story – Another one for the kids! Mini Custard Children’s Theatre are recounting a wonderful story for children and their tired parents at the Frigate Theatre, be sure to bring a blanket and warm milk!
Arthur Smith plus Support: Mike Barfield – Arthur Smith, playwright (amongst many other things) recounts his life and work and general grumpiness that led him to where he is now. With support from Private Eye Cartoonist Mike Barfield it’s sure to be a fun night! Held at the Grand Opera house.

Sunday 13th March

Val McDermid in Conversation – One of the biggest names in Crime Fiction will be in conversation with Festival Director Miles Salter about her work, and crime fiction. A must see for all crime lovers (fiction that is!) as there will be a book signing afterwards! Held at St Peter’s School in Clifton.

For more information look here. For tickets look here, and register to see individual events! Hope to see you there!

by k.campanello@yorksj.ac.uk - October 15, 2015October 15, 2015

Centre for Writing Kicks off the Year with YSJ Staff Reading

On Monday, 12 October, the Centre for Writing at YSJU started the new academic year with a roar and a swoon.

The evening saw the launch of two books: Lecturer Naomi Booth’s novella The Lost Art of Sinking, which imagines an uncanny world of intentional swooning from the perspective of the main character, Esther, and Lecturer and Acting Head of Programme JT Welsch’s poetry collection Hell Creek Anthology, which is based on Edgar Lee Masters Spoon River Anthology, but this time, with dinosaurs found in Hell Creek, Montana.

Naomi Booth introduced the audience to the literary history of swooning, from the Virgin Mary at the foot of the Cross, to contemporary advertising, before reading from her novella’s first chapter. JT Welsch showed the illustrations from his collection created by fashion illustrator Dom & Ink.

Students and staff gnoshed on dinosaur desserts and the lecturers talked about their writing processes and their downright obsessions with their subjects.

JT Welsch signs copies of Hell Creek Anthology

Stay tuned for the next reading at YSJU Centre for Writing!