Background
Nothing
comes from nothing. The vivid success of our "2007 Litfest Inside"
is the outcome of several factors. The idea of a Litfest Inside to coincide
with the Literary Festival
outside came to me during my first residency here
in 2000 when, with the help of
Avril Joy, now Head of Learning and Skills
Low Newton - then a classroom teacher,
I ran a more modest version of the Litfest, inviting writers in to talk
about and perform their work. The generous, appreciative response of the
women inside, the close collaboration with Avril Joy, and the understanding
support of the then governor Mike Kirby and his staff ( at a time when the
prison was in a state of great change) made this a rewarding and
life-changing experience, not just for me but for the women and all those
who took part.
In 2007 I
was lucky enough to return in 2007 for a second residency. There are now
nearly three hundred women here and the facilities and organisation have
evolved. The present Governor Paddy Fox and his staff have again made me
very welcome (again in a very challenging time) and added to the pleasure of
working here.
One new
development that thrilled me was the existence, in the heart of the prison,
of the unique Learning Shop, a facility funded by the charity New Bridge
which employs Lesley Dixon to manage the facility with her colleagues Angela
and Debbie. They support the women (called insiders in this report) who make
use of the Learning Centre which is a large, chunky L shaped space, part
easy-sitting, browsing opportunity, part informal computer use, part
library, part workshop round the table in the thick toe of the L.
Rather
than yearn for a desk or an office, (as do some writers in residence), I am
delighted to base myself here in the busy Learning Shop, doing my work when
the Learning Shop is in full flux with all these activities. Sometimes I
consult with individuals about their current writing or their reading,
sometimes I run workshops around the table, sometimes I go from there to the
wings to talk or work with individuals, especially on F Wing, especially in
the evening. Sometimes I just hunch over a laptop, transcribing women’s work
or concocting what will be our first publication.
Women insiders come and ask me who I am and what I’m doing, and some good
conversations emerge about reading and writing, but also about life in
general and prison on particular.
Planning
So, when
the notion of the 2007 Litfest Inside bubbled up, The Learning Shop was the
obvious venue. I really wanted this Litfest to happen here, around the
Learning Shop table. This decision was inspired by an experience Avril Joy
and I had during my first residency, when we went to Boston USA to visit the
Changing Lives Through Literature project in Boston
run by Professor Bob Waxler. From this project, for our Litfest Inside, we
adopted the CLTL principles of equal participation, the democratic
round-table approach to discussion, and the high expectation that the
participants would be interested in whole books, and whole book writers,
rather than extracts selected for ease of access. As I said, nothing comes
from nothing.
Avril and
I then planned our 2007 Litfest Inside to parallel the
Durham Literary
Festival which was programmed for the first two weeks in October. We had
very useful discussions with Claire Malcolm of New Writing North and Alison
Keeper and colleagues from Durham City Arts who were programming the Durham
Literary Festival. Then we made our decisions regarding our own programme.
We decided our Litfest Inside would take place over fifteen days and would
involve seven events and eleven professional writers. We chose a range of
writers of fame and substance, who worked in a wide range of styles, making
no concessions that this audience was any different to an outside audience.
The
realisation of a series of events like this would be hard enough to manage
outside, but anyone who knows the logistics of doing extraordinary things
inside prison will appreciate the challenge that faced us. That we managed
to do this successfully is down, I think, to our own Pollyanna-ish
doggedness, to the substantial and kindly support of Paddy Fox and the
constructive support of the Learning Shop staff. We need to mention
especially here the support of librarians Charlie and Wes for working so
hard to source the books, and promoting the Litfest individually with women
and throughout the prison with posters and display.
But most
especially and crucially any success was down to the women, the insiders,
who kept coming and coming and coming, and making up what one visiting
writer described ‘the most acute audience I have ever had.’ We kept a
visitor’s book where the women wrote their comments on each session. Their
comments are noted below when we reflect on the actual sessions with the
writers.
Attendance
Although
our round table only held twenty two people, over the fifteen days we had
two hundred and fifty attendances by the women, in addition to other
interested attenders. These ‘outsiders’ included Lesley, Angela and Debbie
from the Learning Shop, Charlie and Ann from the library, the ex-governor
Mike Kirby, and Angela Salmon from Education. These ‘outsiders’, (invited on
the condition that they took part in the event round the democratic table
rather than just observe the event), made a good contribution. It was nice
also to see the chaplain, Fran, during one of the events.
Of course
the success could be down to the flowers and cream cakes! We decided that
we needed to reflect the sense of celebration of literature that
characterises Literary Festivals outside. There it would be flowers and a
glass of wine. Here Ubside plumped on flowers, golden napkins and cream
cakes for our sense of celebration and it seems to have worked.
The Sessions
As I said
above, we chose writers of substance and standing to grace our festival. We
felt that these sessions - perhaps unlike outside events - were something of
an exchange. The writers offered their insight, entertainment and skill. In
return we could offer them some valuable –and probably unique - insight
into the nature of prison life. Appreciation of this was shown on both
sides.
The
sessions all followed a certain pattern. The visiting writer would arrive in
very good time, have coffee in the Learning Shop, and then Avril would show
them round the prison and discuss the way the prison worked, what the
principles and aims of the regime were, and the dilemmas of some of the
women who find themselves here.
Each
session was billed to start at a certain time, but often started ten or
fifteen minutes later when our insider audience finally gathered. There was
good opportunity for casual conversation before the session began. Then, as
will be seen from the descriptions below, each writer would run the session
in their own unique way. After that we would have cream cakes and squash
and the intense conversation would continue. I chaired all the sessions and
was struck by how focused our insider-participators stayed, through what was
a long session which required a lot of attention. I was impressed by how
sharp their questions were and how warm and appreciative their response was
to these strangers in their midst. What evolved in each case was not so much
a lecture, talk or reading, as a kind of multilogue between each writer
and his or her audience. In the end I was most struck by how each session
was different to any other, depending on the unique character of each
writer.
The Writers
The
Magician
DAVID
ALMOND’s approach was quiet, mesmeric. He wove us into his web of words. He
shared aspects of his childhood with us: a childhood that might be mirrored
by those around the table. (One insider, who had read his books, made acute
observations of parallels between characters he described in his own life
and characters in his books…) He shared his early notebooks with us, showing
us the scribbles and false starts, the playful doodles around an idea, the
sheer fun of trusting the surprises that leapt from your head onto the page.
He shared with us the fact that one day he was just on his way to the pub
and the first line of the prizewinning
SKELLIG popped into his
head so he turned round, went home and started writing. He shared with us
the strange fact that Nina, in Skellig, just popped her head over the wall,
and there she was, fully formed. Then he held up a red velvet bag and out of
it produced, one by one, some very ordinary objects. A pastry cutter. A
scrunchie. And, as though he had waved a wand, he made us all - insiders
and outsiders – write! Then he took questions which ranged from whether his
inspiration had altered when he moved to the country, to whether he thought
that perhaps he was working out his childhood trauma in writing his books.
(This directness of latter question, he told me later, bowled him over).
From the Book:
‘I was
inspired by David Almond, He has turned the death of his something good,
turning his grief into happiness.’
‘Thank
you David, I hope that one day you are inspired by my books. Take care, keep
writing and keep inspiring others.’ Susan,
‘Thank
you for such a wonderful afternoon, The inspiration that I felt was
something that I didn’t know that I had within, it was a pleasure to meet
such a wonderful gentleman.’ Chrissie.
‘A
wonderful afternoon, inspirational, be a very down to earth man. Heather,’
‘Thank
you for such a wonderful afternoon.’ Claire
‘Thanks
a lot for the experiences. I’ll take what you said and use it.’
‘Thanks
for having David Almond visit. He is the only author I ever met.’ Stevo.
‘Really
enjoyed meeting David Almond today Sunday 30th September. This
man is really inspiring not just for me but for everyone else who attended.
He has a certain magic about him. Great guy. All the best David. Thank you.
Rachel.’
I
really enjoyed this afternoon and thought it was good to hear from a writer
who knew his work and enjoyed what he wrote.’
‘I
really enjoyed the whole experience of you coming in/ It really brightened
my day and just listening to you talke brought thoughts of my next book to
my mind. I’m truly grateful for your presence.’ Love Nicola.
I
really enjoyed the afternoon and the tasks we got to write down were really
challenging and that’s what I like.’
The
Romantic
There was
a lot of laughter with the writer
Erica James, who laughed a lot herself.
She drove all the way from Cheshire to be with us at our Litfest Inside.
This highly successful novelist, like Kitty Fitzgerald, is a born
storyteller as well as a born romantic. She told us the story of her own
road to success as a writer. As a housewife, bringing up two sons of the
own, she started writing for her own pleasure on her own kitchen table,
before discovering that her stories – which she told us could be described
as feel-good stories – hit a chord with publishers and with a very wide
public, culminating her in winning the accolade of Romantic Novelist of the
Year. In a robust response to the insider who asked why there was no overt
sex in her novels she said she thought of her readers – mostly women between
thirteen and sixty – who would not enjoy that kind of content. Also she
herself would not enjoy writing that kind of material. And she had to be
true to herself, like all good writers. She went on to read a moving extract
from her new book –
TELL IT TO THE SKIES, just out that day – which
portrayed two children moving from a comfortable home with their parents to
a dark unknown place to live with dour relatives. The sense of displacement
and worry about destination was not lost on members of this audience, who
clearly had experiences paralleling these themes. The positive reaction
round the table make it clear within the room it was clear why Erica’s
stories are so popular nationwide. After the Litfest Inside Erica sent two
boxes of her books and CDs for the women who had so impressed her at Low
Newton.
From
the book:
‘Well,
what can I say? It was such a pleasure to meet Erica James, she was a
‘breath of fresh air’. Thank you for letting me have the pleasure of meeting
her. I feel very privileged. Thanks again, Chrissie.’
‘Thank
you for taking your time to tell us about yourself and your books. Have a
safe journey home. Claire.’
‘Cheers
for taking the time to talk to us. Very informative. All the best. Katy.’
‘An
interesting evening with Erica who is a gentle soul and gave us great
insight into her writing and the ways of publishing. Thank you.’ Heather.
‘Wonderful woman, Truly interesting and I would love for her to come back
again.’ Toni.
‘I’m
very glad I met you. It was really impressive. I loved the bit of the book
you read and will definitely be reading your book. You blew me away. Nicola’
‘Thank
you Erica for providing my curious mind with something and offering several
useful points.’ Toni(1)
‘Thank
you for sharing your wisdom and knowledge with us, It was very interesting.’
‘Thanks
Erica James. I loved the time you spent with us and look forward to reading
your book. T.’
‘Enjoyed your visit and talk. Found it very interesting and informative.’
The
Double Act
This was
the only home-grown Low Newton event where
Avril Joy and I (both published
writers) offered a two-hander, reading from about our novels -
THE
SWEET TRACK and THE LAVENDER HOUSE respectively -
which co-incidentally had just come out within a week of each other. We each
told the story of how our novels came about, and
shared the strategies we
had evolved in the writing of such long narratives and generating the
original ideas that kick-start a novel. Then everyone round the table joined
in a ‘setting up your novel’ workshop. We ended up with a good number of
people with original structures which would, if followed up, be the
foundation of a novel. We were joined in this workshop by Hannah Davies
from the Journal Newcastle who joined in with enthusiasm and wrote a very
good piece in the Journal.
She also answered questions about her work and her views on life in
general.
From
the book:
‘I
really enjoyed hearing about your book, Avril and I’m looking forward to
reading it.’ S
‘Wendy,
you inspire me.’ S
‘I
really enjoyed this session, especially the bubbles! You have inspired us
all to believe in ourselves and now I feel I could write anything.’ Alison.
‘This
meeting with the writers has served as a source of inspiration for me,
Hopefully, the sparkles enlightened by them will bring flames of endless
writing. Xiaoxia.’
‘This
session was excellent. Thank you Wendy and Avril for making the afternoon
special. Toni.’
The
Storyteller
KITTY
FITZGERALD bowled into stories straight away, going right back to her
family in Ireland, with the vivid story of her own life, outlining a
poverty and need for independence with which some of her listeners
identified. We heard about her exploits as a teenager, stacking shelves
among other things, and of comic incidents with staid older women who
couldn’t quite handle her particular fire. We heard how, in the end, she
decided to get an education, which built up her confidence and started her
on her career of teaching and working to give women a voice through film,
writing plays for the stage and for radio, writing poetry for publication.
What radiates from Kitty is self belief. Her gift is that as she talks, she
makes is seem possible that no matter how badly life had treated you, if you
believe in yourself, you too can develop your voice. Then she moved onto the
novels. We witnessed the progress of this writer from novel to novel,
finally reaching the famous
PIGTOPIA (which, one woman had
told me, previous to the Litfest Inside, was the best novel she had ever,
ever read). Kitty read from Pigtopia and shared with us how the novel
had evolved; what was this solid concrete book before us had been a flimsy,
tentative thing in the making. This made is seem all the more accessible and
understandable. When she had finished we felt we could listen to her
forever, which is the gift of all true storytellers.
From
the book:
‘It was
a nice session and thank you for coming in and speaking to us all. Toni.’
‘I
think I was driven mad now, because evry single thought that comes across my
mind I want to put it into words. The worst thing is, the different ideas
jumping in my mind are getting crowded and I am too slow to write them down.
I love writing now.’ Xiaoxia.
‘You’re
quite a character, a bit of a rebel! Really enjoyed the session. Each
speaker makes it sound so easy to write, You’re a great inspiration to us
all. Thank you. Alison.’
‘Thank
you foe a very enjoyable afternoon I will definitely read all your
books. Thanks. Kath.’
‘I had
a lovely afternoon and it was lovely listening to Kitty’s wonderful stories.
Thank you. Sue.’
‘Thnak
you so much for coming this afternoon, Kitty. It was such a pleasure to meet
you, a memory I shall cherish. Thank you also Wendy and Svril for
everything you have done to make it so enjoyable, not just for me but for
all of us. Many thanks. Chrissie.
‘Your
book is lovely. I could not put it down.’
‘I was
so looking forward to meeting you after reading Pigtopia and you were just
what I imagined – fun, witty, and definitely ‘a one off’. I now want to read
more of your work.’ Anne Marie
The
Incomer
FADIA
FAQIR
swept into Low Newton in an embroidered pashmina and elegant
pantaloons bought in Paris. In response to some questions she talked vividly
about her life both in her home country Jordan and here in Britain where she
has lived for many years. She was croaking a little with a heavy cold and a
long reading the day before at her Literary Festival event in the city
outside. But she was determined not to let us down, so she came. She was
very impressed with the facilities at Low Newton, comparing them very
favourably with much darker women’s prisons in Jordan. After a life here as
an academic teacher, with the widespread international success of her novel
MY NAME IS SALMA, she told us she had now embarked on
the life of a full time writer. The readings from her novel (read by Avril
because of Fadia’s croaking voice) showed us distant and transformed
reflections of Fadia’s own life as an incomer in Britain. There was some
discussion of the significance of the veil which Fadia herself discarded
twice, and also other parallel matters, very poignant, that brought tears of
fellow feeling and sympathy from more then one of her audience. Asked how
living in the North had changed her she said, apart from bringing her a very
wonderful husband, it had enhanced her sense of humour. ‘I now know,’ she
said, ‘how to laugh at myself.’ The laughter, the insight, and the sharp
humour of Fadia’s session gave witness to this.
From
the book:
‘An
intriguing lady with great sense of humour. Thank you. Heather.’
‘I
really enjoyed listening to your stories and they really touched me. Sue.’
‘Spoken
from the heart. A really genuine lady. It was a pleasure to be present
today. Ann Marie.’
‘Your
book was very heart touching, also when you spoke about your life. I can’t
wait to read your book. Thank you for coming. Christina.’
‘I
think all the writers, and especially you are fantastic. Shirley.’
‘You
are a courageous woman, truly inspirational. I look forward to reading your
book. Toni.’
‘You
have made international issues become very local and personal to all of us.
It has been a pleasure to meet you. Lesley.’
The
Journalist
SHARON
GRIFFITHS, the Northern Echo columnist came along to discuss her role as
a professional journalist and how she tackled her job. She told her story of
moving from TV and Radio to print journalism, where she has stayed in the
recent years of her career. She described some of the interesting people she
got to meet in writing profile features, and how she enjoyed the opportunity
to do something about the rights and responsibilities of producers and the
rights of the customer in her consumer articles. She described being
recognised in the street by people who had followed her and her family’s
lives - at one remove - through her columns. There followed a lively
discussion around the table about the role of journalism in people’s lives,
including the views on negative aspects of this that affected some people in
the room. Then Sharon led a collaborative workshop where the insiders around
the table wrote a column which would appear in print in the next week’s
Northern Echo. Our visitor Mike Kirby contributed fruitfully in this
discussions.
From the book:
‘It was
interesting and enjoyable. I wasn’t sure at first as I’m not a journalist
but she was lovely. Toni.’
‘A very
different but interesting session. Really enjoyed a journalist’s point of
view. Alison.’
‘I
really enjoyed the session. It was very interesting. N.’
‘A very
interesting person to learn about. Sue.’
‘Thank
you very much for coming to see us Sharon. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute
of the afternoon. Please come and see us again. Many thanks. Chrissie.’
‘Thank
you for an interesting and fascinating insight into everything you told us.
It was brill. Y.
The
Researcher
ELLEN
PHETHEAN, a poet, publisher and writer from Newcastle, read to us – with
her friend, actress Kay - from her vibrant book-length poem called
WALL, about life on the Byker Wall, a housing development in
Newcastle. She explained how she had researched through workshops among the
young and interviews with older people and found words and phrases from the
actual people who live there. These phrases she has transformed with her
poet’s skills into a series of linked poems which form a continuous
narrative which illuminate life on the Byker wall. There was some useful
discussion about the nature of dialect. Then Ellen led a workshop where we
all generated our own individual poems placed on place and voice which I
later transcribed into a leaflet – an impressive outcome from this workshop.
These poems will find a place in Low Newton’s forthcoming volume
THE SELF
REVEALED.
From
the book:
‘I
enjoyed learning about poetry and listening to Ellen, as I love poetry
myself.’
‘As I
write poetry myself you were fantastic. It inspired m to want to carry on
with writing poetry as I’ve been at a stand-still lately. You were great.
Many thanks. Nicola.’
‘Very
interesting and informative, a good group participation process. Thank you
ladies for your visit and please come again. Ann Marie.’
‘I
didn’t realise poetry was so interesting.’
Kay
(who read for Ellen) wrote: I was really surprised by how comfortable
everyone seemed in the room. I had a great afternoon. Thanks for letting me
come.’
Ellen
wrote: What a lovely group – all good writers! You can write poetry!
The
Newcomers
PETE
TANTON and ROZ WYLLIE, newcomers to publishing, blew a breath of
fresh air into our final event. Pete entertained us with a great reading
from his just published novel
JOHNNY LONELY.. His American
accent was perfectly suited to his tale of a young man’s attempt to escape
the tentacles of small-town Alabama life. His affectionately comic take on
middle aged women lead to smiles and nods of recognition all around the
table. Roz told us about how she has developed the novel she is presently
completing; how she thought it was about one young woman but suddenly this
other young woman, a London club dancer living on the dark edge of things,
became much more important. (I was reminded of David Almond telling us about
how Nina popped up in his novel Skellig.) Then, when Roz read from her work
in progress the voice of character, Scarlett, rang true with all of us
sitting round the table. There were nods from some women who recognised that
dark edge and perhaps recognised a good novel in the making.
From the book:
For
Roz: ‘Can’t wait to read your book. Hope your send a copy to Low
Newton. Thanks for reading to us. Christina.’
‘Looking forward to reading your book. It sounds great. Don’t change
anything. Toni.’
‘Can’t
wait to read you forthcoming book. Sounds like it’s really interesting.
Love Alison.’
For
Pete: ‘Your book sound fab. Can’t wait to read it. Thanks for coming
in to see us. Toni.’
‘Loved
your book and the way you read it. Christina.’
‘Another interesting session, Really nice to meet you. Alison.’
‘The
story sounded nice in your voice. Like the radio. M’
Conclusion: The Rush For Books
Finally, I
have to say that the most brilliant outcome of all these events was the rush
by the insiders for books by each writer at the end of every session. At
most sessions the librarian Charlie was on hand, to hand out books or put
names on a list so that these newly keen readers could get their hands on
the books, now they had met the authors. This demystification of the
writers, their lives and craft, is the aspect of our Litfest Inside that
could make a change in all of our lives – turning potential readers into
readers, existing readers into writers, and all of us into more empathetic
self-liking human beings.
As I said at the beginning, nothing comes from nothing
Wendy
Robertson
Writer In Residence October 2007
© Wendy
Robertson October 2007
