Out And About

There's more than enough to be getting on with here at the desk, but it's been another busy couple of days out and about - working with Rona Laycock to prepare two radio broadcasts on Life Writing, attending a workshop on Documentary Poetics and helping to host a coffee morning for Gloucestershire writers - a great opportunity to catch up with other writers in the county and to find out what everyone is up to. I'm sure other counties are equally productive but I'm always amazed at the  variety and amount of writing going on in the area! There does seem to be a definite literary buzz in the air here - perhaps it's stimulated by the heritage - Laurie Lee, the Dymock poets etc.

I was interested to find out more about Documentary Poetics. The workshop was run by Andrea Brady, professor of poetry at Queen Mary's, London University. Fourteen of us met at the Richard Jeffries Museum in Swindon to look at the plethora of poetry opportunities afforded by the use of "documents" - written sources as disparate as newspaper clippings, diaries, birth certificates, inquest reports. My own interest of course was mainly around family history certification and memorabilia and the session has certainly sparked some new ideas on that front.

Andrea Brady