These blog posts offer an insight into some of the projects that we’ve supported and how the British Council works with literature, including interviews with writers, diaries from international visits, and reflections on completed or on-going projects. The opinions expressed in the blog are those of the authors.
Poet and editor Martha Sprackland writes about her experiences at the Majaaz Poetry Translation Workshop in Tunsia last month. The workshop, run in collaboration with Modern Poetry in Translation magazine, brought together 5 young British poets, and 10 young poets from across the Maghreb, to translate each other’s work at a residential workshop at Villa Ma’amoura, Nabul, Tunisia.
British Council International Writer in Residence Layla AlAmmar was at Small Wonder Festival, September 25 – 1 October 2018
Vladimir Lucien, one of the poets involved in the Unwritten Poems project, talks about finding a human story to tell, his fascination with the weather and the nature of Caribbean participation in European wars
Kat Francois, one of the poets involved in the Unwritten Poems project, talks multi-cultural history, looking to the past to help the future, and telling black stories.
Jay John talks to Eleanor Turney about the erasure of West Indian contributions to World War One, the importance of telling untold stories and how the global narrative had shifted since 1918
September is upon us, with its attendant feeling of a new school term. The Literature team share what they've been reading this month.
Ishion Hutchinson, one of the poets involved in the Unwritten Poems project, talks about the joy of archives, memorialising forgotten voices and the current political climate
Layla AlAmmar, British Council International Writer in Residence at Small Wonder Short Story Festival 2018, talks about the short story form, Kuwait's nascent literature scene and her own writing
Tanya Shirley, one of the poets involved in the Unwritten Poems project, talks about filling in narrative gaps, the legacy of colonialism and slavery, and the joy of exploring new formats
Vahni Capildeo reflects on her Walking Cities walk with Dionne Brand in Toronto
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