I love West Leeds Festival
Young Writers in Residence
A big congratulations to I Love West Leeds’ Festival Writers in Residence: Jo Brandon, Maisie Barker, Adam Lowe, Zodwa Nyoni and our Associate Writer in Residence: Laura Kirwan-Ashman. This the first time in the history of the festival, that there have been writers in residence. In dreaming up the Young Writers in Residence posts, myself and Jane Earnshaw, Director of the I Love West Leeds’ Festival, wanted to offer professional mentoring to young writers at a critical stage in their development. It is an absolute pleasure to work with each of them.
Writing residencies are lifeblood to a writer. They offer new creative challenges, artistic explorations, new audiences, media exposure, a deepening of profile and deadlines….! I have held numerous international residencies in the last ten years for organisations ranging from the British Council to the BBC; I cannot imagine my writing life without them.
In 2007 I was appointed Parliamentary Writer in Residence, the first parliamentary writer in residence in history. I was employed by the House of Commons and worked in the Palace of Westminster for eighteen months. I performed alongside the Reverend Jesse Jackson and Diane Abbott MP and I met with celebrated actor and civil rights activist, Harry Belafonte. I performed a specially commissioned poem on the steps of Westminster Hall. It was an extraordinary experience and one I will remember for the rest of my life. You can hear the poem, performed live in the rich acoustic of Westminster Hall by clicking here:
http://slavetrade.parliament.uk/slavetrade/assetviews/sounds/aguidetotheexhibitionbyrommismith.html
Keep checking this link www.ilovewestleeds.co.uk the main festival page for details of Young Writers’ diaries, interviews, and up and coming events, including details of the I Love West Leeds Festival Words Café on Sunday 25th July 2010. This is your chance to meet our Young Writers in Residence and hear the fruits of their festival, journeys.
Rommi Smith
Group Mentor for the I Love West Leeds Festival Writers in Residence,
Armley resident and Poet in Residence for Keats' House, London.
An Old Man Remembers...
[from The Number 16, a sequence of poems about the number 16 bus]
The old man sits on an empty bus chair
smart trousers with creases down the middle,
white shirt and tie.
Stares straight ahead with bright blue unblinking eyes
seeing something no-one else can.
His little dog barks excitedly
and runs from leg to leg
window to seat.
Whines for scraps from a Greggs bag.
Looks up at his master
before jumping
and lick, lick, licking his face!
The man, [in a brief moment of sentiment], hugs the yelping thing to his chest.
At home the old man sits
beside an empty chair
a feint scent of lilacs and talcum powder
still familiar.
Soft flannel pants with perfect seams,
matching nightshirt and slippers.
Stares straight ahead at Antique Roadshow repeats
and the Ten o' Clock News.
The little dog lies silent
curled up on his slippered feet.
Occasionally whining at rabbits
in Dog Sleep.
The man rises to bed
and whistles
the dog following
obediently
to curl up
on a single bed.
Journey
Down Old Road
we circle the cenotaph
trying to undo the stone
death of those names
like pulling coal
from a spent fire
stand in our church hall
thinking of that green intake
and the grey circus
of unpaid glory
saying 'cenotaph' takes all my breath -
this monument waits till I catch it again
marking a stop
in the red line drawn up
mapping time that's passed
(Using found words from number 16 bus route times pamphlet)
ARMLEY MILLS, 15:37, TUESDAY
Between the grinding hum of cars
coasting by on gravel and the rustle
of shrubbery with Parkinson's tremble,
I feel the shivery thrill of danger
and smell you approaching.
You are strange and distant,
physical, hard and oniony with sweat.
Sun peels back our skin
to reveal desire, and we make,
quick as foxes, for the undergrowth.
Untitled
In his weaved wicker basket he sells newly sprung June.
Tiny burnt orange terracotta flowers,
bright yellow sunrises, pure white pompons,
deep blue magnificent spires, shrub rose blooms
and rich purple flowers borne fleetingly in early summer.
He stands with his garden on Kirkgate, young Peruvian Edward
still as poised as Sowden painted him.
Expectant for the afternoon at Princess Theatre
he peddles flower after flower
filling pockets with shillings
He recalls stories of Madams with lions and tigers,
tomfoolery from Victoria Bridge to Leeds Bridge
a washing tub pulled by four geese.
He laughs, at the theatre he will see.
Related events:
THE ADAM LOWE TOUR OF ARMLEY
Armley-based writer Adam Lowe takes us on a wonderful and whacked-out tour of the area, from prehistoric times to today. Pop on your magic specs and see West Leeds like you've never seen it before: from monstrous fish to great authors to scandalous residents, you'll never look at Armley in the same way again.
Meeting date: 25th July 2010
Meeting point: Florence Cafe, Branch Road
Finishing point: Armley Mills (in time for the writers in residence Word Cafe)
Meeting time: 1pm
Price: FREE
See these writers perform their work at The Word Cafe on Sunday 25 July 2010, 2.30pm at Armley Mills, Leeds.
For more details visit: www.ilovewestleeds.co.uk
Maisie Barker is a 17-year-old writer based in Manchester. Her favourite books are 'Naked Lunch' by William S. Burroughs, 'Elective Affinities' by Goethe and 'It's Okay, I'm Wearing Really Big Knickers' by Louise Rennison. Currently she's reading 'You're An Animal, Viskovitz!' by Alessandro Boffa and is loving the story about the amoeba. She is looking forward to being one of the I Love West Leeds Festival Writers in Residence because it will be a great opportunity to develop her writing and showcase it in a more public light.
Jo Brandon is a 23 year old writer based in West Leeds. She is currently General Editor of Cadaverine Magazine and has had poetry, prose and non-fiction featured in various publications including Mslexia, Aesthetica, Dream Catcher, Scribe, Like Starlings, Squid Quarterly and Beyond Magazine. She is a regular performer of her work and has recently featured at Ilkley Literature Festival, Barefoot in the Park and on East Leeds FM. Jo is currently working on her debut poetry pamphlet.
Adam Lowe is an author, journalist and publisher from Armley in West Leeds. In 2009 he received four Lambda Award nominations and three British Fantasy Award nominations. In 2008 he was awarded a Spectrum Fantastic Arts Award. His debut novella, Troglodyte Rose, was released to critical acclaim worldwide. He also writes poetry and serves as a journalist for Bent magazine and The Pink Paper.
Zodwa Nyoni, a 21-year-old Zimbabwean-born writer. She writes through narrative poetry. Her work has been published in Sable Lit Mag, The Warehouse (Canada) and Aesthetica Creative Works Annual 2009. She is a member of Young Inscribe (Peepal Tree) and Meta-Phonetics (Leeds Young Authors. She is currently reading Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. She is looking forward to bringing to life narratives discovered from Armley Mills, as one of the I Love West Leeds Writers in Residence.
Laura Kirwan-Ashman is 21 years old and has been writing ever since she was young. Inspired by a creative writing workshop focusing on the author/artist Jeffrey Brown, she has recently begun creating comic books and is looking forward to working on a new one as Associate Writer in Residence for the I Love West Leeds Festival.
Laura will be producing a comic strip inspired by the Armley Marvellous Tea Dance. Will be viewable at: http://www.ilovewestleeds.co.uk/laura_kirwanashman.htm