This was my first event for Cultural eXchanges at De Montfort University, and I went in thinking it would be a boring lecture-type talk. I was prepared to zone out in the first 10 minutes.
However, as a first-year student studying Creative Writing, I was taken aback by the confidence with which these postgraduates read from their unique pieces of work.
I particularly appreciated two writers. When Richard Byrt read his poem ‘Typical Bloke in a Woolly Hat', he actually pulled out a bunch of woolly hats towards the end, claiming that if we bought one we would resemble the character in his poem. This made me see that when reading out poetry, a poet can actually ‘perform’ it, making it a more emotional or humorous experience for the audience.
I also enjoyed Bhagwant Kaur’s short story ‘Reasons for Divorce’. I heard her read a short ghost-story at the Demon Crew launch at the beginning of the year and liked her writing style. In this story I enjoyed the way she structured and unveiled the narrative, as well as the way she incorporated birds. She read in a lively and confident tone, which is something I aspire to develop.
Each readers had an individual style of writing and reading aloud - I was never the least bored or in danger of zoning out.
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Maryam Sameja
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