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!  

Poems are displayed alongside the works of art that inspired them

It includes poems written by people who took part in a series of creative writing workshops, responding to some of the artwork in the galleries. Their poems are displayed alongside the paintings that inspired them. There’s also an opportunity for visitors to have a go at writing their own poem in response. And a fun magnetic poetry option for those who’d rather not face the emptiness of a blank page!

This interactive display runs from Tuesday 6^th September, for nine weeks, until Sunday 6^th November, so please do come and visit if you can…

I’ll be visiting the museum regularly over the next couple of months to see how people respond to the display, and to seek inspiration for my own writing. It has taken a lot of organisation and planning, but I’m really pleased with the result.

Since my last update a lot has happened, so here’s a quick summary of everything else PhD related…

In May I enjoyed three days of intense conversation and training at the SWWDTP PhD student residential in Southampton. We stayed in a gorgeous hotel, and although it was exhausting, it was also a really good break, and a great opportunity to catch up with people I hadn’t seen in person since before covid. Just the simple process of discussing my research with others helped me to clarify some of my ideas and gave me a few new ones too.

At the SWWDTP residential in Southampton

I also delivered a workshop as part of the annual Cardiff University Teaching and Learning Conference, on the subject of neurodiversity and inclusivity in teaching. It was heartening to see that there is so much interest in making the university an inclusive and welcoming space, and I’m hoping to continue this discussion during the next academic year.

In terms of my own creative writing, I’ve been pushing myself to keep on submitting, and (more importantly) to keep on writing and editing! I’ll be posting another update on poetry news very soon…

And I now have a year to complete the PhD research, write more poems for the creative section and tie it all together into something resembling a thesis…

Visit the interactive display at National Museum Cardiff…

Read my blog post about the interactive display…

Find out more about my PhD research…