Voice and video - a winning combination

After the Postgraduate Creative Writing Showcase was over, I was really glad that I'd been there. Listening to Emma Conway, Laurie Cusack and Pam Thompson was very pleasant, but for me it was Emma's work that stayed in my imagination. Her voice was beautiful and the use of video in the background was outstanding. I was simply hooked by this combination.

Alexandros Doschoris

A glimpse of the future

 Reading creative work is difficult so I have great respect for the three DMU postgraduates who took part in the showcase at Cultural Exchanges. 

 

Emma Conway's thoughtful readings evoked a fantastical SciFi world of 3-D printing where humanity is eventually overrun. Laurie Cusack gave an impassioned and flavoursome recitation of various scenes of distinctly Irish origin; the refrain of “Burn the Bastards” really stuck with me. Finally Pam Thompson gave us a glimpse of her ekphrastic poetry (including a gripping pantoum) which revolved around a holographic timepiece and a ship in a giant bottle.

This eclectic group of writers was a great reflection of the literary world. 


Matthew Budge

Inspired to write

Three cheers for the postgraduates who displayed their fantastic work today in the Postgraduate Showcase!

After five minutes of listening to the poetry and short fiction Emma Conway, Laurie Cusack and Pam Thompson had to offer, I was hooked. Exploring a range of ideas and demonstrating their passion for writing, the postgraduates definitely showcased their individual talents.

It was a pleasure to listen to their work and has inspired me further to pursue my ambition for writing.

Praise for the Creative Writing course at DMU and for the postgraduates who made the showcase a must see event. I hope they make an appearance again next year, and I’ll definitely be looking out for their work in the future.

Lauren Ingham

Postgraduate showcase

Three postgraduates, all studying for Creative Writing Ph.D.s at De Montfort University, presented their work in a single and varied showcase.

Emma Conway read from her poetry with a video backdrop and her use of her voice was very strong. But while I could see that some audience members appreciated the mix of video and voice, I sometimes found it hard to take everything in; my brain was sometimes trying to decipher three moving images while listening to the poems. For me a greater emphasis on the words is more important. 

Laurie Cusack's two flash fictions had a focus on Ireland and the Irish people. I happen to be half-Irish and I particularly enjoyed these stories, especially the second with its football theme as I come from a football crazed family. Laurie brought his work to life through tone and expression.

Pam Thompson gave a long introduction to her poems. Personally I would have liked more poetry and less explanation because it was the poems that I really liked.
 
Overall, this was an enjoyable experience with friendly people and I would definitely like to attend another reading by DMU's Creative Writing postgraduates

M.S. Gray

Six talents

On Tuesday 29th February, De Montfort was treated to a reading by six highly-talented creative writers.

First was Daniel O'Donnell-Smith, who completed his MA in Contemporay Poetry at DMU in 2010. The language of O'Donnell-Smith's poems, with successions of evocative words such as 'shot, sparrow, shiver' suggested he placed even more importance on sound than on meaning.

Next came Claire Baldwin, a DMU graduate with an MA in Creative Writing by Independent Study. Her short story 'Frank' uses repetition and surprising shifts in content. She read only the first half, leaving the audience more than a little anxious about the speaker's actions and state of mind.

After this there was Richard Byrt, a postgraduate student of Creative Writing by Independent Study. The three poems he read included the comical 'Dear Professor Auden' and 'Typical Bloke in a Woolly Hat,' which ended with Byrt pulling woolly hats from his own bag.

Bhagwant Kaur, who has moved from her 1st class degree to M.A. studies, amused the audience, which included many students of creative writing, with her short story 'Reasons For Divorce.' The narrator's second reason was summed up in the sentence, 'He's a writer'.

Penultimately, Pam Thompson, one of the organizers of Word!, read a collection of short poems taking a fim about Leicester as their inspiration. All were dark in theme.

Finally, Alexandros Plasatis, a co-editor of the third volume of literacy magazine, Hearing Voices, gave us a story about a young Greek man seeking friendship with Egyptians working in Greece. His Greek accent provided a short cut to the heart of the story.

The six writers set a high standard which many of us in the audience plan to attain.

Grant Cole

An exploration of creativity

This presentation gave postgraduate students at DMU and opportunity to showcase some of their latest work. The prose and poetry performed were excellent pieces, displaying the talent that was cultivated in the Creative Writing course.

The speakers were Daniel O’Donnell-Smith (poet/musician), Claire Baldwin (writer/poetry blogger), Richard Byrt (retired lecturer/mental health nurse), Bhagwant Kaur (writer), Pam Thompson (poet/performer) and Alexandros Plasatis (editor/writer/performer).

The presentation displayed a wide array of compositions to appeal to all tastes. This ranged from unusual and vivid poetry, a short fiction which imaginatively used repetition and explores identity, an amusing poem assisted with crowd-pleasing props, an elaborate joke narrated in fictional form, a powerful description of city nightlife and a deep insight into the conversations between hashish smokers.

Each reader's work demonstrated that time spent in creative writing at DMU was far from wasted.


S. M. Knight

Half-way thoughts

So, here we are half way through the 2011 Cultural Exchanges at DMU, and what a week it's been so far!

The Postgraduate creative writing event has definitely been my favourite to date, with five varied but uniformly enthusiastic writers coming together in a mix of humour, reality, refection, gore, sex and ... more sex, it really wasn't an event to be missed; the entire audience was engaged from start to finish, which is exactly what I look forward to at such an occasion.

Having had such a brilliant experience so far, I've certainly geared myself up for the rest of the week, holding high hopes for the 'Arts in Prison' event tomorrow evening in particular, and to finish the week with a dash of Alan Moore, what more could I want?


Samantha Inglis

Big, bad wolf

Well I can certainly say that I will never read Little Red Riding Hood the same again. Not that I’m complaining of course - it caused more than a few laughs.

I don’t think there was one straight face in the lecture room after the five performers had reeled off their poetry and prose to us during the short hour.

I'm not going to explain the many-faceted comedies involved. I'll just say they involved something wiggling, a phone, a throne, a stalker and a job that involved catering to clients with some very specific demands.

The only disappointment was that time went so fast. I wished I could have rewound the whole presentation and played it again.

To speak plainly, it was simply brilliant.

Sophie Price

Now I'm scared

When I first signed up for the creative writing course, I had some level of understanding at how hard it is, but I've always been interested in writing, so I figured that if I worked really hard, I'd do OK. After attending the postgraduate creative writing event, I fully appreciate how naive I was about this.

Listening to the work that has been produced completely blew me away. These people aren't even professionals and the standard of work heard was above and beyond. Well written, engaging and highly amusing pieces were read, and I could only sit there in awe of the work that they had created in their time spent studying at DMU.

I think that I'm definitely going to have to work even harder than I planned if I have any hope of being at that standard in three years time.


Sarah Methold

That will never be me

When I saw the title 'Postgraduate creative writing', I thought to myself, 'Worth a look, but that's never going to be me.' I didn't really consider how the performances might affect me, or my expectations for the future. I just thought it would be something to enjoy.

The readings kicked off with a tale of a 'trouser ferret.' Laughter rippled across the room creating a great atmosphere for our next readers. We were treated to cleverly worked poems that at the same time felt effortless - I could not help but be envious; provocative, gripping pieces of prose written with such clarity I was left wondering if they were in fact biographical (which I sincerely hoped they were not); humour executed perfectly; lashings of dark wit; and vividly painted imagery.

I left the room knowing which direction I wanted to take with my writing - that direction. In years to come, I want to be like them, crafting work that will make others stop, think, imagine and enjoy. The clear thing about all of those performers was how much they had relished creating those pieces - it poured from their performances. Five very different people, five different lives - and pehaps those writers sat thinking the same things as me years ago.

Since attending their reading I've changed my mind. That could be me.


Terri Baker

A trip into creative minds

Laughter, sarcasm, romance - that was not what I was expecting from the Postgraduate Creative Writing Event in which five writers read out their works of poetry or prose.

The vivid descriptions made it feel like we were transported into the minds of the writers. It was not just a talk - it was a journey.

All the pieces were different: personal experiences, monologues and romance. But they were all as effective as each other, whether they left the audience in tears from laughter or in amazement.

Hearing the work being read aloud gave the pieces more depth and allowed the audience to understand exactly what the writer intended - something which is hard to do when you read in your head.

More, please.



Leonni Secondino

Post-graduate success

As a first-year student, I was both inspired and awed by the talent and confidence presented by five post-graduates, who shared their varied works today.

In just an hour, a packed-out audience wsas treated to poetry, prose and dramatic monologue. The writers explored themes of birth and death, reflections, sexual fantasies and snow hysteria, all handled with a wit and talent that were evidence of the students’ hard work and dedication.

It was a privilege to meet five very promising students, who I would not be surprised to see become very successful in the future.

Lauren Simmonds

Postgraduate Spectacular

Five students combined prose and poetry in a small reading that had a big impact on its audience.

I speak for the whole of the audience when I say the perfomances were riveting, satirical and promising. Not only was the quality of writing at a professional standard but the readings were executed in a confident way that captured the audience immediately.

We were warned at the start that there would be strong language and adult themes. And oh boy, there were but all played out in a highly amusing way.

A man with a 'wiggle' in his trousers, cross-dressing, gore, sexual fantasies, stalkers and 'floppy' stories are just glimpses of what the Postgraduates had in store for us. Humour - the trickiest technique for a writer to grasp - was integrated superbly.

The climax of the event was topped with stories of a seventy-five year old with the body of a Greek God, funny bedroom noises, the 'Prince of Fantasies' and the wonders of enjoying a relationship over the phone. All these came from a single story that gave rise to fits of laughter and stunned expressions.

Excellent event, definitely people I would look out for in the future. Not only were the pieces imaginative and fun, they were of a high standard and their dedication to the art shone through.

Right, better be off! Now going to see Maggie O'Sullivan and Sean Bonney perform!


Leonie Sturman

Postgraduates Shine a Light on Post-Human Landscapes

Dan O’ Donell-Smith blazed the trail for this cultural creative writing smorgasbord, with readings of his evocative poetry delivered in a deadpan fashion. The poems barked a sort of machine language, depicting a digital dystopian gaming life that truly shocked the uninitiated.

Contrastingly Mystie Hood’s reading of the first chapter from her novel radiated a sinister provincial elegance. Indigenous angst and disconnect rub against multiculturalism in a residential building inside a ghetto. The paranoid maladjusted rural protagonist craves anonymity in a globalised city which refuses her the isolation she yearns. Her dysfunctional existence resonated in the well-read extract from this engaging piece of work.

Poems in progress delivered with verve by Pam Thompson whispered other worlds. A plethora of imaginative language conjured apocalyptic visions as we listened transfixed. Pam cited numerous influences including W.S. Graham and Barbara Guest. Her poems powered home, fired by visceral language and imagery that conveyed human landscapes at their bleakest.

Alex Plasatis blasted us into the magic realist zone of eviction, with his gripping tale of student domesticity under attack by the apparatus of the state. Landlord and police are deployed in a surrealist adventure to disrupt student innocence, which creates mayhem. As a consequence a bat takes flight squeaking and shrieking, freaking out the powers that be. It was a fine way to wind up this literary treat.

These readings were well attended and left us in the audience slightly disturbed but craving for more. A big thank you to everyone involved.

Laurie

A range of styles: the postgraduate reading

The postgraduate writing session proved an interesting mix of different styles by four writers: Dan O'Donnell-Smith, Mystie Hood, Pam Thompson and Alex Plasatis.

The first reading by Dan O'Donnell-Smith was based around computing and technology. I particularly liked his original take on this modern phenomenon. It was different, and thought-provoking. Dan suggested his poems were more suited to being read on the page, rather than spoken aloud, but they still grabbed my attention.

My personal favourite was Mystie Hood's reading of her first chapter. It had humour, mystery and a strong concept in terms of plot. It was easy to understand, and she read it really well, managing to captivate the audience.

Pam Thompson read a collection of her poetry, all very strong in their subject, and finally Alex Plasatis's added another very engaging piece, with touches of humour that had the audience laughing.

As a whole the variety of pieces, made me think about the sort of things I could write in the future and gave me new ideas to aid me in my own writing.

Gemma Carey