My poetry-film ‘Fragments of Us’ is now available to view online! You can watch it here. I’ve also written about the process of creating it in this previous blog post. To celebrate this milestone, I thought I’d share some of the photos from the launch event, a reel of creative responses from those who came along, and a short video clip showing my interactive collage book. Continue reading
PhD
Extending the Ekphrastic Conversation with SHAPE Arts
In May 2024 I finally submitted the hard copies of my thesis, and wondered what might come next. With a creative writing PhD, the creative component (in my case, a collection of poems) is usually published as a book, though this process can take a long time. I still intend to publish my poetry collection in book form, but I’ve also had an opportunity to expand my creative work in a new, and unexpected direction. Continue reading
An Ekphrastic Celebration & Poetry-Film Launch!
I’m really excited to be launching a poetry-film at an in-person event on 30th October! ‘Fragments of Us’ was commissioned by SHAPE Arts. It combines poetry with a focus on the process of making, reflecting on the creativity of museum visitors who responded to an interactive poetry display that took place at National Museum Cardiff, as part of my PhD research, three years ago. The film incorporates some of the original words taken from museum visitors’ texts, linking them together in a way that embodies the social and relational aspects of this ongoing ekphrastic conversation. Continue reading
Happy New Year! Here are my Literary Highlights of 2024
2024 began with the completion of the PhD, and then in May I was invited to read at the Aberystwyth Poetry Festival, where I enjoyed three days of sunshine and poetry performance. It meant a lot to me to be able to return to the place where it all began, reflecting on all that has happened since I began studying creative writing there in 2003. Nineteen-year-old me could never have imagined I would one day return, to read my poems in front of an audience at the town’s public library!
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Writing & Place – Celebrating the end of the PhD at Aberystwyth Poetry Festival
As an undergraduate creative writing student studying at Aberystwyth University, I struggled with the ‘writing place’ assignment. I didn’t feel any strong sense of connection with any particular location. Yet so many writers talk about the importance of place in their work. Many Welsh-born writers, in particular, celebrate their connection to the country of their birth. I have always been jealous of those writers who identify strongly with a particular place.
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An Ekphrastic Update: Exhibition, Course, and Conference
As my final year of being a PhD student draws to a close, I’m excited to be continuing my work on ekphrasis (writing poetry in response to art) in lots of different ways! First, there is still time to visit the Wales Millennium Centre where you can see our Explore Collective project exhibition: Freedom to Create.
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My Literary Highlights of 2023 – Publication, Art & The PhD!
This year has been an incredible milestone, with the publication of my debut collection Octopus Mind in July. It felt like everything was leading up to that moment, and the launch was a wonderful celebration of all that hard work, cheered on by the people who have encouraged and supported me over the past 39 years. Continue reading
The End of an Era: Completing the PhD at Gregynog Hall
In December 2019 I visited Gregynog Hall for the first time – a gorgeous, rambling old mansion in mid Wales, where the annual Cardiff University Creative Writing retreat takes place. I was still working out what the plan would be for my PhD over the coming years, with no concept of what 2020 would bring. Continue reading
What Are You Looking For? An Ekphrastic Interactive Exhibition
Last year I put together an interactive poetry exhibition at National Museum Cardiff, and loads of people took part, writing poems and other texts in response to the artwork and other people’s poems, drawings and comments. Since then, as part of my PhD, I’ve been writing my own poems in response – an ekphrastic response to ekphrastic response… and some of my poems have morphed from text into 3D objects! Continue reading
PhD Progress, Poetry, Collage and My Book Launch!
I have struggled a lot with my health over the past few months, but I also have a lot to be thankful for in what is effectively the final year of my PhD. The two writing retreats I attended in December were fruitful. I spent much of January writing new poems based on the January Writing Hour prompts provided by Kim Moore and Clare Shaw, inspired by the response to my interactive poetry museum display last autumn. Continue reading
The Joys of Poetry Editing and Writing Retreats
I love editing my poems. There’s a thrill in getting that first draft down on the page, but nothing beats spending hours, days, weeks, months (even years) pondering over a poem, testing out words, switching line breaks, finding the perfect form. However, I’ve never been in quite this position before, knowing that the final changes I’m making right now will end up as an actual book of poems. My debut collection Octopus Mind is due for publication in July, and the deadline is looming. Continue reading
Poetry in the Art Museum: In So Many Words
For the past nine weeks I’ve enjoyed seeing my PhD theories come to life, in the form of an interactive poetry display at National Museum Wales. The response has been phenomenal, beyond anything I could have imagined, and it’s been a real privilege to see so many people interacting with the display in different ways. Continue reading
A Creative Writing PhD – The Third Year: Part 2
I began my PhD in 2019, just before the pandemic. Covid has meant a lot of disruption and re-adjustment, but I’m delighted to say that, after three years of hard work and waiting, I have finally been able to put my PhD theories into practice – my interactive poetry display at National Museum Cardiff opens today! Continue reading
A Creative Writing PhD – The Third Year (Part 1)
It feels like this year has been busier than ever, probably because in-person things have started happening again, and it’s so nice to see real people!
The academic year started off with a bang, as my first ever peer-reviewed journal article was published online! The title is ‘Shaping the Lyric: Literal and Metaphorical Blank Space in the Poetry of Emily Berry and Ocean Vuong’ and it’s freely available online if you’d like to read it. It began life as a 2000 word essay for my MA, a few years ago, and I’ve spent many, many, many hours re-working and extending it for publication. I initially tried a different journal, and made it all the way through the peer review process, only to be turned down at the last minute. I’m so glad I decided to try again!
A Creative Writing PhD – The Second Year
My first year as a creative writing PhD student was fairly eventful, with a pandemic taking over every aspect of life from March onwards. Looking back, I think the routine of PhD work, with the opportunity to immerse myself in research, was the main thing that kept me going through the lockdown. The second year has included teaching online, running workshops online, organising a conference (also online) and plenty of reading, mainly from the comfort of my own home. For obvious reasons, I don’t have many photos! Continue reading
A Creative Writing PhD – The First Year
I began my PhD last autumn with a mix of excitement and trepidation. I was going back to study full time, to focus on creative writing – the subject that had thrilled me as an undergraduate thirteen years before. And what a year it has been, with so many unexpected challenges! But it has been fascinating too, and even though the last few months have not been easy, there have been plenty of highlights along the way. Continue reading