#uea cws

[little-bookbird]

Haikus that weren't connected and then were

I want pancakes or Death. I haven't quite chosen. Either one would do. ~~~ Butterflies flutter By and wave as they all go. I wave back and smile. ~~~ Pancakes or death is A relatable question In this day and age. ~~~ Butterflies and happy Smiles are less relatable Than ever. So sad.

—c. p. m. b.

[c-p-m-b]

A Psalm for the Waiters

who stand watching people for ten straight hours—no breaks for chairs or food, they stand like soldiers as their souls bow and buckle inside, they hide the collapsing of their spine. a psalm for the waiters who wait for their food, as everyone around them eats and enjoys the food they helped to prepare but will never help to get rid of, they stare at heaps of leftovers they are contract-bound to bin and wonder how disgusting it would be to take some of the food anyway to try and stop their stomach shrivelling they feel like withering away as they throw away enough food to feed an army— certainly enough to feed them. a psalm for the waiters who plaster smiles on their faces with fake laughs they’ve perfected so as not to offend a man three times their age who makes an off-colour joke that makes them red with embarrassment or rage or disgust, they grit their teeth and grin when a customer says they have nice skin and underneath they feel sick. a psalm for waiters a psalm for golf-club workers a psalm for my cousins, my colleagues, and me.

—c. p. m. b.

Inspired by 'A Psalm for the Scaffolders' by Kim Moore

[c-p-m-b]

From the point of view of a brick at the bottom of a wall

The ivy covers my view But I can still see shoes Step lightly on the old stone, Always pairs; none alone. Small and red with gold buckles Runs with baby chuckles, Smart black brogues with pinstripe leg Step around the dropped egg Left by pink flip flops last night As blue pumps tried to fight. This morning new school shoes walked While grown-up high-heels talked Behind little squeaky wheels Kicking legs mean I steal Glimpses of tiny pink socks With an embroidered fox On the inside of left foot I don't have too time to look Too long before the steps pass Then all I see is grass.

—c. p. m. b.

[uea-cws]

Congratulations on your a-level results, future members of CWS!

If you’re a new student starting September, don’t forget to join UEA Creative Writing Society. We welcome students of all interests and abilities :)

[uea-cws]

CWS Welcome 2014/15

It's finally here; it's Socmart day. And everyone is desperate to sign up for a year of creative writing shenanigans. So to those new and returning members - welcome!

This year CWS will once more inhabit the tumblrverse - stay tuned!

[uea-cws]

FREE COOKIES

I repeat, FREE COOKIES for anyone who buys an anthology off us tomorrow at SocMart. (UEA Sportspark 11am-6pm, table 76)

Offer available while stocks last!

[uea-cws]

Surprise workshop

Flo ran this workshop on 26/4/2013. It's adapted from a workshop given by Karen Solie during Poetry Parnassus, 2012.

*

Freewrite:

Never say ‘boo!’ to…

  Karen Solie poem:

1.       Write a one line image.

2.       Write something you’ve overheard.

3.       Write a memory.

4.       Write a statement of belief.

5.       Write a line using a specific/scientific lexicon that you know from your circumstances.

6.       Write something completely made up, or an absolute lie.

Now take a couple of minutes to edit and refine it. You can try moving the lines about if you like. What do you come up with?

  ‘An assertion will always have a shadow walking beside it’

One way to create surprise can be to move from uncertainty into a moment of clarity.

Start a new piece (any form you like, this works for poetry, prose and drama) with a sentence that is a statement. It can be ‘Leaves are green’ or ‘I love you’ or ‘ABC as easy as 123’.

Next write the shadow that walks beside the statement – a doubt, or the opposite of what you’ve just written, or the first associated thought that pops into your head. Something that qualifies and brings into question the statement.

Do the same thing for another few lines – see if you can get 8 statements and their shadows, in a kind of call and response.

Resolve the piece with a statement that cannot be qualified, or which is the conclusion of the argument your piece has worked out. Do you stop on the statement, or on the shadow? Does the shadow repeat the statement, or say something different? What kind of surprise is created here?

  Registers:

Write a piece – a short poem, piece of fiction (about 2 paragraphs) or dialogue – using a demotic lexis, i.e., try and stick in as many ‘yolo’s as you can!

Now transpose that piece into how you actually talk on a day to day basis (if it’s different).

Now transpose it into an elevated register, e.g.:

Nature appall'd Shakes off her wonted firmness.--Ah ! how dark The long-extended realms, and rueful wastes! Where nought but silence reigns, and night, dark night, Dark as was chaos, ere the infant Sun Was roll'd together, or had tried his beams Athwart the gloom profound.--The sickly taper, By glimm'ring thro' thy low-brow'd misty vaults, (Furr'd round with mouldy damps, and ropy slime) Lets fall a supernumerary horror, And only serves to make thy night more irksome.

-The Grave by Robert Blair

Use as much periphrasis (e.g. ‘the finny tribe’) as you can!

Now transpose it into a scientific, technical or specific lexis, e.g. latin nomenclature, etc.

Now see if you can put in words from another language or other languages. They don’t have to be direct translations – just what words do you know from other languages? See if you can replace every noun, for example. If you speak another language well enough to translate the piece, go ahead, or see if you can mix it into a strange hybrid with English.

Now see if you can transpose it into a mythical, religious or spiritual register, something magical and soulful.

Now take your favourite bits of each version, and see if you can mix them up. Try and create surprise by shifting the register at key moments. Which mixes work best? How many changes create the best effects?

  Villanelle:

We’re going to write a villanelle, which is a patterned poem. They’re difficult, so don’t worry if you find it tricky!

See if you can make your refrains ring like a bell – they should have a force to them.

How can you create surprise through pattern and variation?

See if you can build up the pattern of rhymes and repeats of the villanelle, but halfway through, or towards the end, deviate from them – see if you can create surprise. 

[tabnorwichculture-blog]

Reminder: Creative Writing Competition closes 14/04/2013

Get scribbling up to 300 words on the theme of ‘water’ (prose, poetry - anything!) to get your chance to be published on The Tab AND win a copy of our very own UEA graduate Christine Stovel’s book!

Submit your entry to [email protected]

Good luck!