It’s 1859. Penny-farthings are everything. Big Ben is ringing out with British pride for the very first time and housewife Mary Ann is the new ‘Son’ of God… Mary Ann Girling isn’t your everyday Victorian lady, she’s a booze-hocking, hat-making sinner… that is, until a fabulous man in an impressive pair of wings makes an appearance at the pub… a man by the name of… GOD!

GIRL(ING), an exciting new play written by former Creative Writing student at Westminster Mich Sandersons and Florian Saturley, will be premiered on March 3rd 2019 in King’s Head Theatre. This play is directed by Sarah-Mitchell Paterson and will be portrayed by the company Run Like Stags. Join them on this experience and enjoy this tale about British feminist history where its protagonist explores religion, rebellion and martyrdom from a melodious and comic perspective. All the information can be found on the poster below. Make sure to book your tickets now!

https://system.spektrix.com/kingsheadtheatre/website/eventdetails.aspx?WebEventId=girling

When writing fiction have you ever wondered about where you place yourself within your own writing? Amita Murray, winner of the SI Leeds Literary Prize in 2016 for her short story collection, Marmite and Mango Chutney, suggests the necessity of finding your voice to drive your stories in any pieces of creative writing.

Murray knew she had to pursue fiction writing when she found her “unique voice.” She reiterates the idea of experimenting with your voice when it comes to writing fiction. “There are so many stylistic ways of writing and many voices to explore.” She suggests that whatever voice you choose to write with, it should never feel forced; your writing should just flow. And if you are finding it difficult to find one that “clicks”, just keep on writing until you do so;                                                               almost like trial and error.

Murray finds that humour comes naturally to her when writing. Having lived in and around London, Delhi and California, her works often explore the idea of cultural barriers and the stereotypes that come with it, doing so in a comedic tone. Amita Murray’s novel The Trouble with Rose beautifully explores the clash between western culture and South Asian culture. I personally believe that what drives her story is the honesty in her narrator’s voice. She explores the pressures of an Asian woman trying to please her traditional family whilst simultaneously trying to follow her own dreams, and she does so in a light-hearted tone. When writing the “I” in our own writing, she advises us to think about any misconceptions that we might have faced, whether it’s about race, intellectuality or even gender. In doing so, she believes that blending in experiences in our writing will enable us to have an “original and unique” voice.

When writing the “I,” although it is a great idea to draw upon one’s experiences, Murray suggests that sometimes there should be a limit on how much we should focus on it. Often when writing the “I”, works might get a little too personal, distancing us from a great story. Rather than writing on characters directly based on people that we know or have met, Murray recommends building characters “based” off people around us. This will ultimately allow you to adopt a unique voice as your characters are going to have a realistic touch and an element of creativity.

What I take away most from this meeting is that “writing generates writing.” It’s all about persevering; figuring out what elements make your stories interesting. It’s about writing and writing and writing, until you know when you’ve found “the voice” that will tell your stories.

Amita Murray’s The Trouble with Rose now available: https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/9780008291242/the-trouble-with-rose/

Khadijah J. 

This Friday, the Reflective Writing groups from both level 5 and 6 met with short-story writer, blogger, and lecturer Amita Murray. She has written several short stories including ‘Marmite and Mango Chutney’, and has recently published a novel: ‘The Trouble with Rose’. She is known for writing wonderfully about complex family situations, and really aims to add some truth into her work.

As she opens up the discussion, she mentions that she is recovering from a slight cold. She proceeds to tell us that despite previously being a dance teacher at a university, over the last couple of years, she’s realised that she really wants focus on writing fiction. After spending some time in India, the US and the UK, she became curious about the way in which voices meet, and often misunderstand each other; her objective is to write from a unique voice.

‘Feeling othered’ is also a main theme across her work, and she asked each of us whether we feel isolated in London because of our physical appearance, or perhaps the way we carry ourselves in the city. She highlighted that London is an extremely diverse city which is an obvious advantage, but this can often make each of us feel overwhelmingly lonely at times. I think every student in the room could relate to this statement.

On request, Murray read out the opening extract from her novel involving two families at a wedding. I liked the way she captured a comical situation between a cliché Indian family and an English family, integrating a good balance of narrative description and dialogue which drew me in immediately. Race is one of the main themes in her writing, and she effectively uses multiples references which depict a typical situation between a an Indian family and an upper-class white family: the grumpy grandmas with hairy top lips, sat scowling in the corner (something we can all relate to). Murray explains that she tries not to base her characters on her real family as she knows they are likely to read it.

Towards the end of the discussion, a couple of students asked Murray how she structures her writing. She told us that for her, it is important that the protagonist has an objective, but also an underlying conflict/internal problem. The rest of the novel will follow his/her journey through this, hopefully leading to a conclusive ending; an answer to their distress. When it comes to re-drafting, and deciding what should and shouldn’t stay, she recommended that we look at a ‘raw draft’, and decide what is overstated, and perhaps causing us too much despair.

We were rapidly running out of time, but some of the students really wanted to know how she got hold of an agent, and how she managed to get published. She gave us a bit of guidance on writing a cover letter, and ensuring that we say only relevant things about the book, and why we want to work for this particular agency. It was a satisfying end to the talk, and left me feeling hopeful about entering the publishing world once I graduate.

The Trouble with Rose is now available as an eBook: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/amita-murray/trouble-with-rose.htm

Jasmine Ridgley 

Research By Rosie Lewingdon Post by Busra Almis

Waterstones, Tottenham Court Road:

• https://www.waterstones.com/events/search/shop/waterstones-tottenham-court-road

Adam Foulds and Elanor Dymott In Conversation with Sarah Moss.

An evening spent celebrating the brilliant new novels from Adam Foulds and Elanor Dymott, hosted by Sarah Moss.

Monday 4th February 18:30.

An Evening with Patricia Bright.

An evening with YouTube and Instagram star Patricia Bright, she chats about the inspiration behind her new book, Heart and Hustle.

Thursday 7th February 18:30 – 20:30.

Harry Potter Night 2019.

A Harry Potter Night with themed cocktails.

Friday 8th February 18:00 – 21:00.

An Evening with David Wallace-Wells.

Environmental journalist David Wallace-Wells talks about his new book, ‘The Uninhabitable Earth.

Tuesday 12th February 18:30 – 20:30.

February Boozy Book Club – Her Body and Other Parties.

An instalment of their Boozy Book Club as where they will discuss Carmen Maria Machado’s book, Her Body and Other Parties. 

Tuesday 19th February 18:30 – 20:30.

Diary of a Drag Queen – An Evening with Crystal Rasmussen.

A very special evening with drag queen Crystal Rasmussen.

Thursday 28th February 18:30 – 20:30.

An Evening With V. E. Schwab.

An evening to celebrate the release of two new books from internationally bestselling novelist V.E. Schwab.

Saturday 9th March 19:00 – 21:00.

Meet Frank Turner at Tottenham Court Road.

Meet folk-rock icon and Sunday Times bestselling author Frank Turner, and get a signed copy of his new memoir, Try This At Home: Adventures in Songwriting.

Friday 22nd March 17:00.

Seasonal Feasts from Fiction Supperclub Vol. 4: Spring – A Room With A View.

The last in their four-part, seasonal series of literary-inspired supper clubs: Seasonal Feasts From Fiction. Vol: 4 Spring brings sun-dappled Italy to the TCR basement with a Florentine feast inspired by E. M. Forster’s much-loved classic, A Room With A View.

Thursday 25th April 19:00.

The National Gallery, London:

• https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/get-creative

Talk and draw Sessions.

Join an artist and lecturer to explore a painting in two different ways.

Multiple dates, 13:00 – 14:00.

Sketchbook tour.

Meet an artist at the Sainsbury Wing Guided Tour Meeting Point, collect a stool and set off into the galleries for 90 minutes of looking at paintings and working in your own sketchbook.

Multiple dates, 13:00 – 14:30.

Daily guided tour.

Experience a 60-minute taster tour of the collection.

Monday – Friday, 14:00 – 15:00.

The Tate Modern, London:

• https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on?daterange=fromnow&event_type=exhibition&gallery_group=tate_modern

The C C Land Exhibition, Pierre Bonnard, The Colour of Memory.

This is the first major exhibition of Pierre Bonnard’s work in the UK since the much-loved show at Tate 20 years ago. It will allow new generations to discover Bonnard’s unconventional use of colour, while surprising those who think they already know him.

23 January – 6 May 2019, £18 entry. 

Magic Realism, Art In Weimar, Germany 1919 – 1933.

Tate Modern will explore German art from between the wars in a year-long, free exhibition, drawing upon the rich holdings of The George Economou Collection.

30 July 2018 – 14 July.

Poetry by Rosie Lewingdon & Posted by Busra Almis

She is New York,

I am Venice, 

and you,

you love to travel. 

————————————————————————————————————

To The Stars.

You asked me where I wanted to go,

I smiled, and told you,

to the stars, my love, 

to the stars.

I smiled, and told you,

let’s go everywhere, even

to the stars, my love, 

and dance across the sky.

Let’s go everywhere, even 

the furthest reaches of the galaxy, 

and dance across the sky

with stars burning around us.

The furthest reaches of the galaxy 

would be quite the adventure,

with stars burning around us 

in a swirl of luminescent light.

It would be quite the adventure

to explore everything out there

in a swirl of luminescent light,

and to see otherworldly things.

To explore everything out there

would liberate my hungry heart,

and to see otherworldly things 

would free my mind from reason.

Post by Shonatya Gogana

At times I wonder how it is that people manage to create pieces of writing inspired by photography, but Lila Matsumoto seemed to make it sound completely possible, not forgetting enjoyable. The quick interactive exercise at the start of her talk was a wholesome way to ease herself into the process of engagement with her audience; a picture of a painting on screen was shown and we were asked to write down what we felt was happening in it, from our first initial thoughts. It was interesting to hear a number of different ideas of what people had thought of whilst looking at the painting in front of them, including a mixture of emotions and forest animals. I found myself struggling at first to conjure up an idea, but nevertheless was blown away at how the minds of others were instantly connected with the painting.

Matsumoto spoke of responding to paintings through poetry and how she had become intrigued by the idea of it, and soon began to read her own collection of poems that each had been paired with a photograph. It was fascinating, being able to see the photograph in front of us whilst she read her poems aloud; it made it easier to connect the dots and see the ‘bigger picture’. I think I speak for the whole of the audience when I say that I could relate to Matsumoto when she mentioned how she was once afraid of calling herself a poet because, as she said, she ‘didn’t write the serious stuff’; however it soon came to her realisation, after her discovery of radical poetry and her feel for writing, that she was in fact a poet. She pointed out the idea, clearly, that you do not have to write the serious typical sonnets and ballads to call yourself a real poet, and that you are a poet if you feel like one.

Other topics mentioned were her inspirations for some of her writing, talking of T.J Clark’s ‘the Sight of Death’ and Gertrude Stein’s ‘Tender Buttons’, both including abstract ideas of writing based on pictures. Clark’s diary-entry themed novel presents the idea of exploring thoughts and feelings through influence of paintings, and Matsumoto made it clear that she had genuine interest in the whole ‘poetry based on paintings and photographs’ idea, as shown through her own work ‘Allegories from my Kitchen’. She then read another piece alongside music in the background. You could tell that the whole process of the poem and the music alongside each other was thought out well, as the music had specific pauses and the lows and highs of volumes would be at specific times, all in sync with her reading aloud.

When asked about her views on ‘space’ in her writing by a member of the audience, once seeing the way her poems were set out on the page, Matsumoto had no trouble explaining that she thought the use of space on the page was a vital necessity in terms of not sticking to the idea that your writing has to be set from the left going right and can in fact be set out in any way that you decide. As well as that, some other ideas she expressed importance for were removing all of the automatic features on Microsoft Word/Pages etc, like font and font size. All that she had to say in terms of having to stick to traditional ways of writing forms was one of the most influential things for me as an up and coming writer, as I agree with what she had to say about having a sort of ‘randomness’ to your writing.

Overall, Matsumoto did a respectable job at speaking about/sharing her experience of being a poet and her specific ways of writing being moved by paintings and photographs. Engaging well with each of us in the audience, she inspired us with her ideas and beliefs of what poetry can in fact be like.