Welcome to our events blog – get involved, read about past events and find out about upcoming ones

Sutton Heroes Award Ceremony

Never ones to say no to a celebration, particularly a literary one, we were delighted to be invited to the prize-giving ceremony of Sutton’s ‘100 Word Heroes’ flash fiction competition last week. The competition had been part of the ‘Heroes’ themed workshops we ran in partnership with Sutton Council for their Imagine Festival 2011.

The ceremony was held in the corner of the bright, airy foyer of Sutton Central Library where we gathered and chatted over tea and muffins and browsed the large display of entries. In attendance were the winners and runners-up representing both categories (Under 16s and Over 16s) along with support from friends and family as well as others who had taken part in the competition. Having been involved in the judging for the competition, it was particularly nice to able to put faces to some of the writing and meet the winners and participants alike.

Musing over the entries it was interesting to see the different interpretations of the ‘heroes’ theme, particularly across the categories. The younger participants had conjured up super-heroes and alter egos to great fantastical effect, whilst the entries from the Over 16s had subtler themes and twists, and many focussed on the unsung heroes of the everyday. Common to all though, was the quality, inventiveness and economy of writing; it takes some heroic skill (excuse the pun) to write something good in so few words.

We took our seats for the awarding, which was preceded by a few words from Iqbal Hussain, Cultural Services Manager for Sutton. He talked briefly about the Imagine Festival and the wider initiative of sports and cultural activity which is running as part of the borough’s ongoing celebrations in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics. The winners and runners-up were then called up one by one to be congratulated and receive their prizes, before all being invited to read their entries to the small but captive audience. Some were more nervous than others but all read confidently and it was a lovely addition to the evening.

Many congratulations go to 10 year old Dayna Mistry from Wallington and to Penelope Clark from Effingham who were the winners of the Under 16s and Over 16s respectively. Both received £40 in Book Tokens for their impressive entries. Dayna’s entry was a fantastic poem about the Olympics and Penelope’s was a great short piece of prose which included a clever twist when you realise the supposed super-hero, having to go about his day after a long night of good deeds, is actually a young boy who’s been caring for a sick relative.

Additional congratulation go to Amruta Prasad from Cheam, Manette Arulanandam from Sutton, Promilla Mullen from Ewell and Daniel Haskell from Wallington (Manette sadly couldn’t attend on the night) who were the worthy runners-up and each received £20 in Book Tokens.

The ceremony ended with some group photographs and some more chatter on all things literary, as people slowly began to drift off home. We departed inspired and enthusiastic and we can’t wait for future collaborations with Sutton in the coming months, as the grand Olympics draw ever closer and the excitement and anticipation continues to build.

Sutton Heroes Competition Winners
From left to right – Daniel Haskell, Amruta Prasad, Penelope Clark, Dayna Mistry, Promilla Mullen

My Old China

My Old China

Well folks, here at Spread the Word we are coming to the end of our My Old China project, which has seen us out and about in Lambeth Walk busily collecting histories and memories. Here’s a recap on what’s been happening over the last few months.

New years are great for new starts and, in testament to this, January saw us relocate project headquarters from the pop-up shop at 67 Lambeth Walk to the Doctor’s Surgery on the corner. Some of you might have had a chin-wag with our writer-in-resident Steve Tasane there, and even more of you might have had a butchers at our display boards showing photographs of the Walk in all its various guises through the years.

The early months of the year also saw the start of phase 2 of the project, in which Steve dug out his writing pen and sat down to produce the rather brilliant ‘Amazing Case of Lambeth Walk’. Weaving fact and fiction, past and present, the story takes the form of a thriller, where the Story Detectives have to solve the mystery of ‘who killed Lambeth Walk?’

Meanwhile, local residents at Creative Sparkworks were taking their cue from the old Doulton’s factory, to design, make and decorate a collection of pots for the project. The designs were again inspired by past memories and emblazoned with cockney haiku and imagery. Keep an eye out for some of the pots in shop windows on the Walk and on our touring exhibition, which is visiting Roots and Shoots, Chandler Hall and Durning and Brixton Libraries.

Steve was also busy working with the Year 5 class at Walnut Tree Walk Primary School, exploring what it was like to grow up on the Walk in the past. Different generations came together when two of the Walk’s veteran residents popped along to give their childhood memories. The children took these memories and combined them with their own experiences to create and rehearse a play, The Walnut Tree Walk Time Tunnel, which was performed to the whole school.

Naturally, all the stories we heard and all the art that they inspired, were just too good to keep to ourselves, so at Spread the Word HQ we’ve been busy putting together the commemorative book of the project. The ‘My Old China ’ book has turned into something we would be proud to display on our shelves. In it, the story has been brought to life with real photographs and exhibits we came across, the haiku which inspired the pots have been joined by two fantastic poems by Steve and you will find The Walnut Tree Walk Time Tunnel in there too. If all that wasn’t enough, you can explore the history of the area yourselves with a guided walk; discover the stories behind some of the pubs and learn about Charlie Chaplin’s connection to the Walk. If you didn’t get your hands on a copy of the book (they went like hotcakes on our Fun Day!) then you can download a pdf copy of the guided walk Here. You can also download the mp3 audio accompaniment here, read by talented London poet Inua Ellams.

Finally, we couldn’t forget the hugely successful Fun Day we had in partnership with Roots and Shoots last month. The turnout was fantastic with people coming in their hundreds to help us celebrate the past and present of this distinctive part of London. Many familiar faces were there, including some of people that had kindly shared their stories, the Mayor of Lambeth and even the Pearly King of Peckham and his family came and led all in a dance of ‘Doin’ the Lambeth Walk’. With so many things to do and see, the hardest choice was what to do first. There were mosaics and pottery workshops to try, readings and history talks to hear, locally produced products to buy and the gorgeous wildlife of Roots and Shoots to explore. To refuel we munched our way through delicious homemade cakes, tea and strawberries and even cautiously tried the jellied eels, which were surprisingly popular!

There was an great atmosphere to the day and it was a great way to end the project. Spread the Word would like to thank everyone who took part in My Old China or came to the Fun Day. It’s been an amazing experience and we have loved being part of it.

Barra Bromley, a writer and regular volunteer for Spread the Word, reviews our last Writers’ Rendezvous..in conversation with Blake Morrison

The Wonderful Woolfson & Tay bookshop

They say writing is an isolating business but how do you tell if you’ve fallen into that category yourself? My own litmus test is to see how excited I get when the postman comes to the door, not because he looks like Brad Pitt (which he doesn’t), but because it’s a sign that the outside world is still there, and existing very nicely, thank you very much. Not to mention that the postie could be bringing me a letter confirming I’m a runner-up in a national writing competition. Or, more likely, that the expected rejection missive has finally arrived from an almost forgotten literary agent after the usual six month wait.

So what could be better to counter a writer’s solitary craft than a get together with a whole variety of fellow scribes? This is where one of Spread the Word’s Writers’ Rendezvous’ evenings fits the bill. For a small entry fee, and the promise of alcohol and nibbles (of the crisp variety rather than in the vampiric sense), the individual writer can share and discuss latest projects, test out their dwindling social skills and learn more about their craft along the way.

Even better was the latest Rendezvous evening on the 31^st of May, held at Woolfson & Tay, a divine bookshop, café and writers’ venue on Bermondsey Square in south London. Where many bookshops have folded – thanks to most of us buying our books from online companies, and choosing to read from iphones, Kindles and over someone’s shoulder on the bus – Woolfson & Tay have made the idea of books, as objects, seem wonderfully exciting again. They also do a superb, green tea milk shake!

As if the venue couldn’t be bettered, it actually was further enlivened by the inspiring conversation held between poet, playwright, professor and all-round, perfect guest speaker, Blake Morrison and Eva Lewin, Spread the Word’s own Writer Development Manager. In front of a packed room, they debated the pleasures and problematics of a writer’s life and Blake answered questions from the audience in a way that made me want to get up and make for home.

Not, in case you’re wondering, because any part of the evening was second rate. On the contrary, I felt so inspired that I couldn’t wait to get back and start on my writing. Oh well, it seems there’s no way of avoiding the solitary life for very long. Perhaps I’ll see you at the next Writer’ Rendezvous? If so, please be sure to come over and say hello!

Barra Bromley

Five Poets, Pavilion Theatre in Brighton – Denise Saul one of our The Complete Works poets reports back on the event

Giving voice to subjects too often marginalised, they reminded consumers that there is more that is noteworthy than mainstream publishing would have us believe. The Argus.

We all enjoyed the lively ‘Q&A’ session led by the audience at Brighton Festival 2011. Our readings prompted a range of questions about the writing process, our mentorship experience and writing within the landscape of British poetry. Someone from the audience asked us about our inspiration for writing poetry. On the process of writing, Karen McCarthy Woolf pointed out that an observation, for example, seeing a bird’s wing could initiate a poem. Shazea Quraishi mentioned that she enjoyed the research side to poetry in relation to writing a sequence of courtesan poems. This event reminded me yet again how The Complete Works has nurtured a writing community of strong and varied poetic voices.

Denise Saul

Writers’ Rendezvous…in Conversation with Gillian Slovo, Susannah Sibbick, Spread the Word’s Marketing and Admin Intern, gives her account of the evening

The evening’s discussion centred around Gillian Slovo’ personal writing style and processes. The evening felt like an intimate conversation cum masterclass. It was a real insight and privilege, clearly evident from the amount of people eagerly taking notes.

One of the main topics of the night was on the process of researching done before you can even start writing a novel, something which is clearly very meticulous and important in Gillian’s work. Most interestingly though, was that despite this, she started her writing career very much disliking this part of the writing process.

She asserted the importance of not jumping headfirst into manically researching a topic without first doing some reading on the subject; something which is very easy to do when you get excited about a new idea. This is because, as she pointed out, researching, writing and editing a novel can take years so you might as well like what you’re writing about! She also acknowledged that it’s easy to get bogged down in the researching and never actually start writing. Her tip in avoiding this is to stop researching when you find you already know what you’re reading. Another useful tip I picked up was how Gillian uses index cards to write small bits of detailed information such as meals people would have eaten or the weather on a particular day in history, as these are easy to refer back to instead of the mountains of notes that you can accumulate during research.

Another bit of practical advice was how getting away from everyday life can help you focus on your writing. Gillian spent a few months writing in seclusion in Tuscany, where she discovered what we all secretly know; that the internet and Google  are great consumers of time. So much more can be achieved without a wi-fi connection.

I loved the way she talked about how she immerses herself in a landscaoe and describes the differences in the light between places, which is such a lovely thing I rarely notice. Her talent for inspiring became quite apparent at this point as I immediately wanted to run out to see what she meant.

Similarly, at one point she was asked how she tackles the difficulty of the rewriting process, her response was that you shouldn’t fear it, as this is where some of your best work can be. Getting the words down on paper is the hard part, after that you are just making it better and better. On knowing when to finish rewriting, she said to stop when you start making it worse again.

More generally, she talked about the inspiration for her writing (Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns and Georgette Heyer were quoted as two) and how she got into it. (Her mother was a journalist and Gillian and her sisters were brought up with the affirmation that writing was a perfectly acceptable career) It was when she and a friend started writing their own detective novels fuelled by plenty of wine that she discovered her love of fiction. In her words she loved the fact that ‘you only had to go where you wanted to go.’

Her advice throughout the evening was incredibly concise and helpful. Not only that, but she made me want to go out and immediately start writing. Maybe 2011 will be the year I actually do…

My Old China – Verusca Calabria, oral historian, interviews Steve Tasane

Oral historian Verusca Calabria has posted an interview with Steve Tasane, Spread the Word’s Writer in Residence for the My Old China project on her blog. She has kindly allowed us to reproduce her interview here. To visit Verusca’s own blog go to http://veruscacalabria.wordpress.com/

Steve Tasane, poet and writer collecting memories of Lambeth Walk
by Verusca Calabria

Steve Tasane, a critically acclaimed poet, writer and performer, is now running an oral history project of Lambeth Walk as part of the oral history project My Old China, run by Spread The Word, Lambeth, London, UK. Verusca Calabria interviewed this talented man to find out more.

How did you become a writer?

As a kid I remember my Mum buying me my first typewriter the way rock stars remember their first guitar. I was a shy boy and got shouted at a lot. Writing was my way of shouting back. I was inspired initially by the ranting poets of the Punk era. I wrote my first novel, about sexual abuse, because men at that time took no part in discussing the issue, or bothered reading about it, and yet it was men who on the whole were the perpetrators. I wanted to challenge the myth that abuse was a “Women’s Issue”.

What services does Spread the Word provide?

STW provides workshops, writers surgeries, readings, competitions for writers and readers in London. Its emphasis is on development of new writers and celebrating work that moves across all cultures and backgrounds. It recently launched TEN, anthology of ten new Black and Asian poets, published by Bloodaxe Books.

Why and how did you get involved with Spread the Word?

STW uses a broad base of writers to deliver its workshops, and I was first asked to do a series of poetry workshops for children at Hamleys Toy shop. Since then, I’ve delivered a few one off family workshops, as well as a series of Find Your Talent workshops in East End libraries, encouraging young people to do genre writing – horror, sci-fi etc. And for a year I was co-Writer in Residence for Bexley Playbuilders. All writers (except maybe JK Rowling and a few others) have to supplement their income with writing workshops; and STW’s projects are always a lot of fun, well-organised, and engage communities who really benefit from the workshop opportunities.

What is My Old China project about and what are you hoping to achieve?

My Old China is a celebration of people’s life stories in and around Lambeth Walk. We’re looking at people’s memories, from fifty years ago, to last week; from 82 year olds to pupils in local schools; from the Tenants’ Association to the youth centre. Pupils from Walnut Tree Walk school will be producing a play about the early lives of some of Lambeth Walk’s older residents, and I’ll be writing a commemorative book that brings together the stories of Lambeth Walk’s residents, as well as a Guide to Lambeth Walk, with historical/interesting locations highlighted.

How did the idea of the shop come about and what will you use it for?

The shop is the centre for people’s stories. It’s a place of free exchange, in which anybody can drop in for a chat, a cup of tea, to peruse our collection of photographs, read about people’s experiences, drop in their own photos and stories, play games, find out about lost friends as well as meet lots of new ones! The shop will be decorated in the spirit of Lambeth Walk, and we will recreate the Walk with photos and histories of the different shops and houses.

What has been happening so far with the project i.e. recordings, volunteers and training?

The team at Lambeth Archives have been incredibly helpful, in supplying photos and research material, and we’ve had our first oral history training session from Verusca Calabria, with a group of volunteers including a local resident, workers from STW and a worker from The Poetry School on Lambeth Walk. I “observed” Verusca interviewing local resident, Daisy Moore. We’ve been building a list of local residents to interview, and have had meetings with the local Tenants’ Association and at the Garden Museum. We’re right at the beginning of the project, and building towards a festival in Spring 2011!

What are your hopes for the project’s future?

Lambeth Walk has a vibrant, colourful history and present – we want to be able to draw the past and present together to show the Walk as the wonderful community it is. The demolition of much of the “old” Walk, and rehousing of many of its residents in other areas, led to an idea that the community of Lambeth Walk was shattered. But to this day, the Walk maintains a lively personality, reflected by the diversity of its residents, and scope of activities in and around the walk – from boxing clubs to knitting nights, recording studios to day nurseries. Just as our own life experience forges the personalities we have today, Lambeth Walk is the sum of all those who’ve lived and worked here. We’ll be holding a mirror up,

Birthday Party preparations…

We have our alcohol license..tick…our fabulous goody bags are taking shape with stuff from the marvelous folks at: BBC Writers’ Room, Art on the Underground, New Writing North, Faber and Faber, Bloodaxe books, Hodder Headline, The Poetry Library , Sarah Butler & Eva Sajovic, Brand and Tetley (guess what they sent!) to name but a few contents under wraps till the 12th November… I’ve ordered helium and am trying to think of vaguely challenging questions for the quiz…plus the lovely Camilla Brueton is coming to STW towers tomorrow to assist with making a cake out of foam… all go

annette

Spread the Word at Across the Street, Around the World

Spread the Word is very excited to be working with Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea to run a writer’s residency as part of the borough’s Black History Month Festival – Across the Street, Around the World which takes place this October.

When Kensington & Chelsea asked us to recommend a writer who could work with them on developing a digital strategy as part of the residency for the festival we did not hesitate in suggesting Jacob Sam-La Rose. Not only a published poet and highly respected for his work Jacob is also an expert on all things digital and very technical!

To keep up with what’s happening at the festival and to book please visit http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/leisureandlibraries/cultureservice/acrossthestreet.aspx

Highlight literature events include:

Monday 4 October – The October Lecture: Linton Kwesi Johnson

The revered reggae poet in conversation with Jacob Sam-La Rose.

Friday 22 October – Looking Back, Looking Forward (produced by Spread the Word)

Readings from Bidisha, Anthony Joseph, Malika Booker. Hosted by Jacob Sam-La Rose

The Complete Works movie – on a screen near you!

Spread the Word presents The Complete Works movie – gain an insight into the two year project to support ten talented Black and Asian poets in their professional development. Find out more about the mentoring process and how these ten poets have developed their craft leading to the publication of a new Bloodaxe anthology – Ten. And don’t forget we have a spectacular showcase event on Friday 17 September at The Tabernacle. Tickets are just £7 and it promises to be an evening of powerful, moving and truly exciting poetry from writers whose countries of origin include Guyana, Trinidad, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Jamaica, Saudi Arabia, Ghana and Uganda. Book here.

PenPals…SLAM – chance to win £100 for your story!!

In partnership with
Networking and showcase event for young writers aged 18 – 30

"..and then I said go on take the trousers..."

Come and hear fresh new storytelling and share your words with other young writers. What do you have to say about the city you live in? What does this sprawling metropolis mean to you? Bring along your story, max length five minutes, on the theme of London. Eight entrants will be chosen at random to read in front of a panel of judges, their favourite will receive a prize of £100. The audience will also vote for their favourite. Bar available.

Judges: Hannah Westland (Rogers, Coleridge and White literary agency), Edd Phillips (a previous StorySlam winner) and Emma Hewett (Director of Spread the Word).

To book: please visit www.spreadtheword.org.uk or call 020 7735 3111