I'm about to visit Radio Humberside studio so thought I'd write a quick blog before I leave. I'm expecting to be talking to James Hoggarth about the Humber Mouth Lit Fest which was on last week and for the rest of this. I think it has been successful in spite of the cuts in Arts and the departure of several people who have previously been involved in it. I attended two events; one at the Hull Central Library where Oxygen Books, who produce the City-Pick books came to look at Hull through the eyes of local writers. City-Pick books are not just travel books even though they cover cities as diverse as Amsterdam, Venice, London and Paris, and now have visited Hull and gained an impression -- hopefully a good one through the work and description of those of us who write about it. Submissions of various works were submitted by readers and writers and to be honest I didn't think mine would be chosen as I write of 19th c Hull and not as it is today. However, mine was there alongside Andrew Marvell, Philip Larkin, Winifred Holtby and those with a contemporary slant such as Linda Acaster, Penny Grubb, Sue Wilsea, John Godber, Nick Quantrill and others. It was very interesting to see how different writers see the city. It is also hard to define what it is that attracts writers and poets to the region. Is it the Humber, the wide skies, fantastic sunsets, the sense of history or the slight sense of isolation? Or is it the people? I suspect all of these things play a part in creativity. Sometimes Hull gets a 'Bad Press' and yet it is a very special place for those who live here.
Another event was at the Hull History Centre, of which I have spoken previously. How lucky the city is to have such a splendid building and amazing facility for searching through the past.
The meeting took the form of a workshop day and those who were interested were invited to write a short piece relating to either their own experience or of someone from the past or just pure fiction. My role was to explain how I use research to write my own brand of 19thc novels merging fact and fiction. More anon
No comments:
Post a Comment