Description

Have you always been a reader? Have you ever fancied having a go at writing creatively but haven’t yet devoted time to it? Perhaps you are an experienced writer looking for a new form to explore or need some good old-fashioned inspiration.

Becky Cherriman curates a series of creative writing workshops, which will run on the third Saturday of every month at The Leeds Library. Beginning with January’s fresh page, each workshop will deal with a particular aspect or genre of writing. Guided by established writers, you will draw inspiration from the library’s collections to write and then receive feedback on your work in this stimulating environment. Workshops will draw on Dewey Decimal themes such as Contemporary Fiction, Home and Family Management, Biography, Sociology and Anthropology, Philosophy and the Theory of Religion.

18th May: Sai Murray – writing the political (any form or genre)

The workshop is from 10am-12pm with the option to stay from 12-1pm for feedback.

Sai Murray is a writer, poet, spoken word artist, graphic designer of Bajan/Afrikan/English heritage. His debut poetry collection Ad-liberation (2013) was described as “words that breathe – enliven – words that dance before transfixed audiences…” He has been a finalist in several slam competitions including: Mo Juice (Barbados), Ilkley Literature Festival, Superheroes of Slam and was longlisted for a Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowship in 2017.In 2018, Sai was commissioned as part of Shake! as a live artist for the inaugural Black Cultural Activism Map project by The Stuart Hall Foundation. He currently holds positions as: resident poet at Numbi; co-director of Chapeltown Arts; arts and politics editor of Sable LitMag; artistic director of Scarf magazine; board member of Remember Oluwale; a trustee of The Racial Justice Network; and an organising member of PARCOE (the Pan-Afrikan Reparations Coalition in Europe).

The rest of the workshop programme is as follows:

15th June: Ali Harper – crime fiction

Becky Cherriman is a Yorkshire writer, workshop leader and performer. She works part-time as Creative Writing Development Officer for The University of Leeds.

Published by Seren, Mslexia, New Walk, Envoi, Mother’s Milk, Bloodaxe, Well Versed, Moving Worlds and The North she was resident poet for Morley Literature Festival in 2013 and lead artist for Altofts Festival In A Day 2016. Echolocation, her first poetry pamphlet, and first collection Empires of Clay were published in 2016 by Mother’s Milk and Cinnamon Press respectively. Her agnostic poem Jesus Lives was highly commended in the Forward Prizes 2017.