Up for anything
and out of it, mostly.
The Dirty Dozen?
Double it.
Occupy veterans,
some AWOL marines,
Swampy’s best mate’s
mate, turned informer.
On tour
and staying there,
like secrets
no campfire soothed.
The searchlights
we were used to.
Not desert rats
for nothing.
It was the noise,
white, whole nights of it,
a Christmas crooners CD
turned up to eleven. Continue reading “While Shepherds”
By Professor Debra Myhill, Director of the Centre for Research in Writing, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Executive Dean, The University of Exeter
On the first day of Christmas my teacher gave to me
The right to my creativity.
On the second day of Christmas my teacher gave to me
Two curly pens and
The right to my creativity
On the third day of Christmas my teacher gave to me
Three story seeds,
Two curly pens and
The right to my creativity Continue reading “The right to my creativity”
By Lucy Oliver, Research Fellow, University of Exeter
Speaking at Islington Arts and Media School earlier this year, Sir Tim Brighouse labelled the current educational climate in England ‘an Age of Confusion’ – one in which governments have progressively lost sight of the fundamental purpose of schooling. By way of illustration, he cited Ofsted’s ‘relentless’ focus on the basics of literacy and English and its almost total neglect of creativity and the Arts. As always, however, his message to the profession is not a pessimistic one: challenging circumstances demand creative responses and the ambition and vision to reach beyond. Continue reading “Unlocking creativity”
By Jamila Gavin, novelist, Arvon tutor and Advisory Group member for the Teachers as Writers project
When I was first attempting to write, my mother who had been a lifelong teacher gave me what I think was one of the best pieces of advice for becoming a writer: read, read and read. Read the best, read widely, see how the good writers do it. Continue reading “Writers as readers”