Festival in a Day

What do fairies, Vikings, a Rocket Dog and Ursula Le Guin have in common?

No, this isn't Only Connect so you won't lose points when I give you more clues:
The Federation of Masked Booksellers; Dahlia Press; Demon Crew - DMU Creative Writing Students.

Yes, I knew that would do it - you're right! It's the 9th Annual States of Independence Day at Leicester's De Montfort University and those are just some of the organisations providing stalls and panels.

This incredible FREE event on Saturday 10th March 2018, organised and sponsored by Five Leaves Bookshop, Nottingham  and the Creative Writing Team at the University, is not to be missed. 

With something for everyone, this Book Festival in a Day is a wonderful opportunity to meet and listen to established authors and new talent, to take part in workshops and seminars as well as show your support for 'independent thinking, independent writing and independent presses'. 

There will be ample opportunity to purchase new and pre-loved books and - if you're lucky - you may even have the opportunity to share some 'Big Birthday' cake with Dr Simon Perril as he launches In the Final Year of My Forties on the day. 

The event runs from 10.30am - 4.30pm at Clephan Building, De Montfort University, Leicester. For directions please click here  

Helen Abbot

I overheard a rumour about free wine

The final event I attended was the East Midlands launch of Overheard: Stories to Read Aloud and despite what you may suspect, I didn’t go just for the free wine. 

(Although that was a fantastic bonus! I advise the powers that be to supply free wine at all future events. Maybe some whiskey too...) 

I may have digressed...

The book was edited by DMU Creative Writing tutor, Jonathan Taylor, and contributed to by our other tutors Kathleen Bell, Will Buckingham and Simon Perril, among many others. Although I was sure the other writers would be excellent, I was most interested to hear my tutors’ work. Of course, it did not disappoint.

The idea of stories written for the purpose of being read aloud took me back to telling ghost stories, by torchlight, as a child and ‘story time’ in primary school, gathered in front of the teacher. It reminded me of what first excited me about stories - the facial expressions for emphasis; the whispers and the shouts; the pauses that feel eternal and the look of intrigue in the listeners' eyes. That strength of suspense, humour and involvement can’t be matched when I read text from a page.

The writers brought their stories to life and it was easy to see that the audience was hanging on their every word as the wine stood, neglected, at the back of the room.

If you missed the event, don’t miss the book!

Hannah Maggs

I want to know more

As I sat on a chair swirling a glass of wine in one hand as the audience flooded into a crowded room,I felt privileged that I had experienced De Montfort University's Cultural Exchanges Festival and the range of extraordinary individuals who had come to share their valuable work . 

The final event, 'Overheard -Stories To Read Aloud,' was no exception as a host of readers provided an evening of entertainment. There was a range of stories.  Particularly memorable was Will Buckingham's snippet of an anecdote about a bizarre event witnessed by a couple of honeymooners.  The stories varied widely in theme and topic ranging from mental illness to the transition from childhood to adulthood brilliantly told using the theme of students and teachers.

As I left the artificial lights of the cramped room, I felt as if a piece of each story that had been read aloud had left a long-term effect upon my mind.  Each story, perfectly told, gave an insight into the lives of the characters involved.  I walked into the darkness wishing I could only know more about them all. 
 


Mike Payne

All change for creative writers

 

 

Writers Alan Baker and Will Buckingham have both been prompted to write by the ancient Chinese text the I Ching, also known as The Book of Changes.

Will, began by explaining the mathematically-derived structure of the I Ching: how the 64 hexagrams are formed by either Yang (solid) or Yin (broken) lines stacked in sixes, to represent all the possible combinations. Each of these hexagrams is a statement that can be used for the purposes of divination, or taken and applied as a philosophical perspective.

Alan highlighted - and it really struck me - how contemporary the concepts of I Ching are.  He described it as similar to, and even influential on New Age spiritualism; as well as a key influence on the development of the binary system.

Both Will and Alan, read some of their own work directly inspired by their reading of the I Ching.  Although both started from the same place there were remarkable differences between Alan's 256-word prose poems and Will's short stories.  However both had similar elements, being in their own ways random, circular and cryptic.

Listening to Will and Alan's account of the I Ching, I couldn’t distinguish whether what I was hearing was a mass of convoluted nonsense, or a universal truth delivered with subtle poignancy. Sitting here reflecting, twenty wiki tabs deep, with tired eyes and a head full of whirling thoughts; I’m still not sure. In can at least conclude that the I Ching is a marvellous and seemingly inexhaustible source of food for thought.

Xavier Cranwell

Something old. something new, something borrowed ...

Cultural Exchanges? What is it all about I hear you ask? I was asking that very same question a month ago. Since then I have done my homework, gathered my research and concluded it is something that should be celebrated by all as we focus on the supreme talents that both De Montfort University and the country has to offer in the arts.

As part of my blogging review I have decided to see not just those I am familiar with, but also things I have little or no prior knowledge of:


Something old: Jasper Carrott. A favourite of mine for many years. His humour and anecdotes never fail to bring a smile to those who see him.

Something new: Postgraduate Creative Writing Showcase:  This is the opportunity to see some of the future stars of literature presenting their finest work to date.

Something borrowed: Alan Baker and Will Buckingham: On the advice of somebody I cannot name (you know who you are) I am taking the opportunity to see how the poems and stories of the book I Ching are still relevant today (No, me neither). 

So I appeal to all of you, get out there try something new and you never know you may even enjoy it.


Chris Franklin

A Degree of Creativity

When you're being served apple juice in a wine glass, you know you're in for a treat. And I'm not just talking about the selection of toffee eclairs, cupcakes and - Will Buckingham's personal favourite - pink shrimps, that were on offer.

Demon Crew's Student Publications Launch at Cultural Exchanges showcased some of the finest work produced by the Universities third year students. With a wide selection of performances on offer - poems on puzzles, post-it notes and in concrete form, audio performances from radio to song, not forgetting extracts of prose and general talks about the publication process - the turn-out was tremendous.

Each performer was received heartily by the crowded audience and the atmosphere was buzzing with electricity. The Creative Writing team (Kathleen Bell, Will Buckingham, Simon Perril and Johnathan Taylor) have clearly built a great rapport with their students across the board; humour, jibes and jabs were well-receive.

Laughs aside, the event was a great success and, for me personally, an insight to my future. As a first year student, I attended the event with certain expectations. These were surpassed; beyond any doubt each piece performed was a credit to the creative staff at De Montfort University and a to the high level its students have achieved.

Cultural Exchanges is one of De Montfort's biggest yearly events and already I look forward to the next one for more 'posh' apple juices, free cakes and hopefully a pink shrimp or two, if I can get there before Will! And I'm also looking forward to more performances and inspiring works from DMU's most talented creative writers.


(Thanks to Pamela Hallam & Alex Bliss for the authorising use of the photo above.)


Holly Hookway

Incomplete novels and attack dolphins

I could wax lyrical about the quality of the readings at the "Work in Progress" evening, but for the sake of sanity (yours) and dignity (mine) , I won't. The idea for the event was simple: three authors - Michelene Wandor, Jonathan Taylor and Will Buckingham (the last two are DMU lecturers) - gave readings from books they are in the process of writing as well as talking about the process of coming up with ideas, shaping them, and setting them to paper.

In the midst of a sea of "How To Imagine" books that set out the rules of inspiration with firm, patronising hands, the event took a refreshingly open-minded approach. The three authors were very specific about their own methods, but made little attempt to push them on to the audience as the Only Method.

It's an approach which would rub some people the wrong way: "What's the point if they're not going to tell you how to write a novel? If I wanted to hear people talk about what they personally do, I'd go read a blog," they might say in rather nasal tones.

But they aren't the target audience: The target audience is writers, who chafe at being told how they should find inspiration. Attempts at setting down hard and fast rules for imagination result less in delighted cries of "Thank you! I wouldn't have known how to get an idea otherwise" and more in low snarls of "Release the attack dolphins."

Or perhaps that's just me. Either way, the three authors earned their applause at the end of the evening.


Phillip Dobson