| After the success of their events in last year's AyeWrite, Glasgw's Adult Literacy Initiative (Glasgow's Learning) were asked back to host another three workshops to celebrate the learners' writing achievements.
The first of these workshops was held on Monday 12th March and featured readings from many creative talents that the initiative has helped over the past year. Jane Logue, a member of Area Services for Glasgow Life, co-hosted the event and is pleased to announce the publication of a collection of work from last year's writers.
"We asked for some of the learners who took part last year to up-skill as volunteers to make the AyeWrite! Publication, and they've been nominated for a SALP [Scottish Adukt Learners' Partnership] award. The book is ready to go out on Friday and it contains wonderful contributions from Glasgow community learners."
In the past year alone, over 14,000 people in the Glasgow area have recieved support with reading, writing and numbers through the Glasgow's Learning Initiative. There are many free programmes running throughout the city, all aimed at improving these skills and can be accessed at: http://www.glasgowslearning.org.uk
Monday's event saw learners from all over Greater Glasgow read their poetry and stories, and from writers' groups to Glasgow Carers, everyone had something different to contribute about their experience of life in the city.
A definite highlight of Monday's event for me was the Springburn Creative Writers, who helped to celebrate the Mitchell's 100th anniversary by reading poems and short stories set in Glasgow at various points oer the past century. The readers told of the city's overcrowding in the early 1910s, when women were kept "barefoot and pregnant!", the triumphant return of revolutionary socialist John Maclean, from prison in 1918, right up to the bustling changes of today's town centre.
Glasgow's Learning have held two more workshops this week which aimed to continue this celebration of Glasgow life and culture through a dynamic and interactive programme. Wednesday's event was based around ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) and aimed to explore life in Glasgow through the learners' writing, which will be displayed and performed.
"The ESOL event on Wednesday will be a bit more interactive and there will be a few different stalls. We'l have different activities based around the written wordd as well for the kids."
With contributors and visitors from many of Glasgow's diverse communities, including refugees and asylum seekers, migrant communities and born-and-bred Glaswegians, those from every walk of life were sure of a warm welcome into this celebration of literature.
After all, as Rose from Springburn Creative Writers says in one of her poems:
"There has been so many changes, but one thing that will always remain is the friendly Glasgow welcome to our dear green place."
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Aye Write! Glasgow’s Book Festival got off to a great start as authors, bloggers and publishers gathered in the Mitchell library to impart their wisdom and guidance to an eager crowd. I attended Cat Deans event on blogging (which I felt was very apt to write a blog about). I have dabbled in blogging in the past but always found my interests waned after a few months, or less at times.
However, Cat Deans was at the ‘Write Now’ event to inform a full crowd of the keys to successful blogging. She advised us to pick a subject of interest and to set our personal voice and limits at an early stage to avoid becoming distracted or uninterested. She also had a great idea about keeping a notebook or folder full of cuttings that would provide blog inspiration when you are struggling to find any. For example if you have a fashion blog keep cuttings of clothes or inspirational designers, if you have a blog about books keep cuttings of your favourite passages or articles from magazines.
The crowd asked some great questions during the Q & A session. One of the questions was around publishing your work online. Cat advised that it is a great platform to get your work seen but that if you publish, for example, a short story online you are unlikely to get it published elsewhere as the story is already out their on the internet. When asked how you generate traffic to your blog Cat advised us to start commenting on other blogs and using social media to promote them.
Deans provided a simplified breakdown of what is needed to write a good blog post:
- Interesting content
- Being yourself
- Being brief and simple
- Good formatting
- Good headline
- Broken down text
I managed to grab a quick word with the blogging expert at the end of her master class. When I asked how she felt about the event she said, “I loved actually doing the event – it was great to see that so many people were interested in blogging and to have the opportunity hopefully to have inspired a few people to start their own blog. I love the written word – both reading and writing – and blogging is such a great way to hone your writing skills.”
Cat Deans talk on Blogging was insightful and I agree with her that blogging is the easiest way to perfect your writing skills and style. You are able to write freely about a subject of your choice and have no time constraints. So, give it a go and enjoy your writing and in time you could have thousands of people reading your words.
Fiona Baker
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The Mitchell library is playing host to Glasgow literary festival, AyeWrite, but principal librarian Patricia Grant is keen to show that there's a whole lot more on offer for the Glasgow public.
Last year, the Mitchell Library celebrated its 100th anniversary at Charing Cross and a lot has changed since its grand opening in November 1911.
The library's collection began in 1874, when Stephen Mitchell, a wealthy Glaswegian tobacco merchant, left the bulk of his estate to the city council in order to provide “a large public library in Glasgow”. His only conditions were that “books on all subjects not immoral shall be freely admitted and no book shall be regarded as immoral which simply controverts present opinions on political or religious questions”.
Patricia Grant, principal librarian at the Mitchell Library, describes how the founders of the iconic building wanted to document Glasgow life for future generations:
“When the Mitchell Library was first set up in 1874 one of the earliest decisions was that they would collect material about Burns and about Glasgow and Scottish poetry as well, so the collection was gathered even before we had a premises.”
The library is unique in this case, having a whole floor dedicated to preserving the story of the Glasgow people through its vast collection of "books, pamphlets, periodical publications, maps, plans, and generally all papers which illustrate the city's growth and life."
As well as preserving Glasgow's past, the Mitchell is also dedicated to providing the city's population with an up-to-date library service that's free to use. Library users can visit the newly refurbished café and bookshop, and freely use their PC area for research, through their online resources.
The library is also proud to host Glasgow's AyeWrite! Festival for the seventh year running. Over the next few weeks, popular authors such as Alexander McCall Smith will give talks and readings in the library's theatre rooms.
“We're very excited for the up-coming festival. AyeWrite! is a great opportunity for people to come to the library and have the chance to meet and hear writers, as well as to have the chance to buy and borrow the books.”
As well readings by authors, the festival will also include live debates on Scottish Independence, a talk by Tom Watson on the current Leveson Inquiry and many interactive events for young and old alike. AyeWrite! has been a great success in bringing in new library users for the Mitchell and Patricia hopes that this year will be no different.
“We’re very keen to make sure that people who visit AyeWrite! are also visiting the library – as the greater Glasgow Library Service, with the Mitchell being the hub of this – so that people have a chance to join the libraries and get the benefits of membership. It’s not just AyeWrite, it’s not just for a few weeks in March, it’s actually for everyone, from the cradle to the grave.”
The Mitchell hosts events all year round and Patricia is keen to show that they provide something that will appeal to everyone.
“We have “Bounce and Rhyme” sessions for parents and newborns, leading to “Toddlers’ Tales” day care and parents’ groups; young people, students and academics can use the computers for up-to-date information on our resources and we have a large patronage of older library users too who use the reading rooms and ancestry searches, so we really have something for everyone and try to cover all ages.”
The Mitchell Library is a great asset to Glasgow. It provides us with a place to meet friends and have coffee, a place to research our ancestry, to learn, to attend literary events and community theatres productions. Those of you who are attending the AyeWrite! Festival, take a moment to have a look around at what else is on offer within the library, there really is something for everyone.
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| A new day dawns and it’s getting that wee bit brighter. Now it’s March and you’d be forgiven in thinking that it’s the start of spring – that’s what it’s supposed to be after all, eh? So let’s get the barbeques and shorts out.
But no. Stepping outside, it’s still freezing. You have to scrape the car, wear the scarves, the boots and the gloves. And at the back of your mind is the rain that we all know is coming. April showers. More like January to December showers.
As a distraction, let’s concentrate on something to take your thoughts away from the dreicht weather. Aye Write! 2012 is coming, and it’s going to be a belter.
Now in its 7th year, the festival brings another fine group of authors to the Mitchell Library from March 9 to March 17. But in all truth, this is something you should know by now: Aye Write! is Glasgow’s book festival and the Mitchell is the place where it’s at, you ken?
Principal Librarian, Patricia Grant, told me the gossip about why the festival is so great: “It’s very much a part of Glasgow individuals’ cultural lives, but it’s also about learning: there are so many different strands bound into it. There’s the chance to meet and hear writers, as well as the chance to buy and borrow their books and discuss the events.”
So let’s start by doing the listing of highlights at the festival: Christopher Brookmyre; AL Kennedy; Alexander McCall Smith; William Boyd; Richard Holloway; William McIlvanney; Julia Donaldson or whoever takes your fancy. They’re all coming. But you can see the predicament I’m in here already. How can I even begin to do the generic ‘including’ sentence with a few highlights when everyone really is just so good?
I mean, I could mention that trio of inspirational women, Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, Scots Makar Liz Lochhead and National Poet of Wales, Gillian Clarke, all making a joint appearance on March 16 and reading from their selected collections. Who would want to miss that?
I could also mention the opening event with Tom Watson MP discussing his new book on his role in exposing the phone hacking scandal. A hot topic affair which is paired with a debate about the future of the media. Have you been following Leveson? Then follow this.
Or you could set upon a different subject instead. Pick a theme of your choice from these: “football and sectarianism; money and the economy with Phillip Coggan and Alistair Darling; China; atheism, faith and religion; exploration; global revolution; the monarchy and a republic; George Mackay Brown; the dark side of the internet; the purpose of universities; the Spanish Holocaust; middle age; the history of the trumpet.” I’m a bit partial to the Darling myself, or a bit of the trumpet, but it’s all up to you.
So don’t tell me even after all that, there’s nothing that floats your boat? Then where do you go? To the Aye Write! Schools Programme for the kiddies or a weekend full of family events. To a Scottish Poetry Slam (for the bibliophiles, don’t worry, no wee poems were harmed in the making of this) or the wide range of reading and creative writing workshops on offer. That’s where.
Last year was Aye Write’s best year yet with 43,000 participants taking part in 117 main programme sessions. For 2012, with 146 events, you should come and contribute to an even bigger turnout.
So it’s cold and icy? You’re staying inside? On your bike.
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| Welcome to Aye Write! 2012 when another stellar line-up of authors is coming to The Mitchell Library. The themes being explored from March 9 - March 17 include sectarianism, the economy, phone-hacking, global revolution, middle age, independence and the 100th anniversary of the Titanic and The Mitchell Library as well as the launch of Scotland's Bookshelf, celebrating Scotland's Literary Heritage.
The opening event this year features Tom Watson MP discussing his new book about his role of exposing phone hacking before a debate on the future of the media. Other famous names appearing at this year's Aye Write! Glasgow's Book Festival include Willima McIlvanney, AL Kennedy, Richard Holloway, William Boyd, Alexander McCall Smith, Tam Dalyell, Andrew O'Hagan and a joint appearance of the Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, the Scots Makar Liz Lochhead and Gillian Clarke, the National Poet of wales, a unique event, the first time the three women laureates have appeared together.
Philosophy, comedy, Leningrad and the ancient Greeks also feature amoung the discussions as well as an evening celebrating the life and work of artist George Wylie. There are sessions on Aardman Animation's new film the Pirates! and Dad's Army.
Aye Write! Glasgow's Book Festival also has our award winning children's programme, the free City Read where 10,000 books will be given away (Scotland's Bookshelf is the theme) and free community events and our first ever creative writing school with Strathclyde University.
Looking forward to seeing you all in March.
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| The Aye Write! Programme will launch in The Herald on Saturday 21 January 2012. |
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