Late .. and inspired

Trains can be very unreliable- you might hope to arrive slightly early and end up arriving ten minutes later instead. Such was my introduction to this year's Demon Crew reading at the Cultural Exchanges festival, and it was for this reason that I almost didn’t attend.

I am beyond glad that I reconsidered. I was barely noticed as I made my late entrance- so absorbed were the attendees in the performances. And soon enough, so was I. Each performance was unique, ranging from political satire to humorous odes, personal experiences, and duets - I’d never heard of poems being performed in that way before. The short hour passed much too quickly for my liking and I found myself wanting to listen to more stories and poems from the immensely talented writers present.

I'd never been to a poetry reading before, and though the setup didn’t look the way I imagined it to (the TV show Jane the Virgin is to blame for my perception of book readings...), I came away feeling invigorated with new ideas and the urge to just write.

Here’s hoping this surge of inspiration will last more than a day!

Hanaa Nisaa

Reviewing the Demon Crew

This morning I had the privilege to witness brave Creative Writing students showcase their own work as part of the Cultural Exchanges Festival in Leicester.The enthusiasm in the room was evident and the students' passion for their writing quickly reached the audience. A huge range of styles and topics were on show and this diversity added to the excitement of the event.

 When you're a writer, getting your work out there and heard can be one of the hardest things. You've written a book? A poem? A short story? That's great. But, if you don't do something with it, it could easily sit gathering dust on your bookshelf or lost and forgotten on your laptop.

That's why events like this matter so much. They give students/aspiring writers a platform on which to showcase what they can do - and they give audiences a chance to encounter new writers and new work.


Chloe Smart 

The full English

So what would you think were the 9 main ingredients for a full English breakfast? Apparently this causes much discussion and Seb Emina, author of The Breakfast Bible shared the 9 ingredients he thinks need to be there.

Image from Wikipedia

Bacon, eggs, toast, mushrooms, sausage, tomatoes, black/white pudding, baked beans and potatoes.

Seb shared some amazing facts about his many breakfast adventures and also talked about his publishing journey during this tummy-rumbling talk. So much so I had to stop on the way out to grab some lunch.

Although he didn't touch very much on his transition from blogger to published author, the interview was very informative and inspiring. So much so I brought the book.


Kizzy Bass

Frank talk from a rising star

Imagine seeing a dinosaur pushing a milk float up a busy high street in Cardiff!

This was one of the many interesting stories Luke Franks shared during his session on Monday, where he also talked about his rise through the ranks of student radio to winning the Sony DAB Radio Rising Star Award in 2012.

Studying for his Psychology degree didn't turn out how he thought but said, "Finding radio was worth the whole university stuff." and gave him the insight and skills to progress to where he is now, a children's TV presenter, YouTube star and radio DJ.

Being fun, thinking on your feet and being original are some of the qualities Luke said will make future presenters stand out.


This was a great start to an interesting week, there is still time to book onto one of the many sessions still to come.

 Kizzy Bass

Breakfast-food for thought

Decisions, decisions. Cultural Exchanges is just around the corner and, with so many great sessions available, my only issue will be fitting them in around the school run.

As a blogger I was excited to see that Seb Emina would be attending this years event. Seb made the transition from food blogger at The London Review of Breakfasts to published author with The Breakfast Bible, short listed for Food Book of the Year.

Many bloggers (me included) would love to publish a book based on their blog so I hope to grab some tips from Seb.

This event, along with many more during the week is free but you need to book. 

 

I hope this gives you food for thought and leaves you hungry to learn more.

Kizzy Bass