Poets, Prose And Tear-Stained Notebooks

Of all the many departments and schools at UEA, none is more celebrated and well known as Creative Writing. It’s hardly a surprise, then, that we have a thriving Creative Writing society which is dedicated to helping students improve their work as well as giving them opportunities to perform.

The Tab caught up with the society’s president, second year LDC student Lewis Buxton, to chat about what the society has to offer and how you can get involved.

The Tab: Lewis, first things first – it may sound obvious but what does Creative Writing Society actually do?

Lewis: Basically, we create a space where people feel comfortable writing with each other – sharing their work and generating new ideas. That’s kind of the philosophy behind us, so in practice we run two workshops a week from 3-5 on Wednesdays and Fridays. We also have monthly open mic nights.

What special events have you got planned for this semester?

Our main one is an anthology of work by our members – poems, short stories, flash fiction etc. It’ll be released in Easter – and there’s still time to write something! The deadline for submission is the first of February, and all you need to do is become a paid up member to submit something. It’ll be released in Week 12 – follow us on Twitter for more details.

What exactly goes on in your workshops?

We’re not Poetry Society or Novel Society – we are Creative Writing Society so we try to cover as much as possible! We have eight workshops a month, a couple on poetry, a couple on prose- and then a feedback workshop. You can bring along a poem or a short story and have your work critiqued constructively.

Committee members normally lead these workshops – we have some excellent members like Flo Reynolds and Megan Pattie who run Kumquat Poetry blog. Some of our workshops are geared towards certain concepts, for example different sorts of sonnets, but most are about generating ideas.

What do members gain by becoming part of the society?

Well, you learn that writing doesn’t just have to be an individual activity. You can be part of a community. It’s nice to know you’re not the only person who sits with a notebook at 2am soaked with tear stains and coffee! Too many people think they’re on their own- that’s dangerous. Writing stops being therapeutic and you end up trapped in your own mind. A lovely moment for me was realizing that walking around with a notebook is completely normal! In addition, it’s a great way to make friends. When you share your writing, you learn to quickly trust each other. And, like any society, it looks good on your CV!

Reading out your writing is so personal – what would you say to a potential member who feels anxious about this?

You can be a part of our society from any school at the University, which is great. A medic, for example, will write something very different from an English Literature student. I’d also tell them to not worry about comparing themselves to others. It’s entirely about how you develop – and you don’t have to take yourself too seriously! Don’t feel any obligation to read anything out. We just want you to be able to write something you feel happy with.

Finally, as an up and coming performance poet yourself, what advice would you give to aspiring writers like you?

Keep a notebook with you always and fill it. Read poetry. Read novels. In fact, just read anything!

Learn more about UEA Creative Writing Society on Twitter or on Tumblr. The next Creative Writing Society Open Mic will be on 21 January at the Bicycle Shop on St Benedict’s Street. Entry is free.