A life story workshop to create poetic imagery grounded in news articles. Run by inspirational artist, novelist and educator , Una
About this event
A life story workshop to create poetic imagery grounded in news articles.
Two hours and thirty minutes. Includes:
• A mini artist’s talk with Una, about the role of news articles in her books Becoming Unbecoming and Eve.
• A practical workshop creating images and words on paper, which can help you to get started on a creative writing project of your own.
There will be an extra 15 minutes before we start and after we finish for general mingling and tea drinking, so the session is three hours in total.
The workshop
You will need:
A notebook and pen.
A historic or contemporary news article that you feel some connection to*. (You can print this out or have it on your phone.)
This activity is a type of collage, made from found material – in this case, newspaper articles. “Found” imagery is widely used in the visual arts and in poetry. Fiction writers spend a lot of time researching real events to ground their stories in convincing imaginary worlds. In this workshop we will look at news stories and refashion or reorder them, and make connections to the personal and the political.
*Don’t worry if you don’t have a suitable news story, I’ll bring spares.
Who is this Una person, and what does she think she can teach me?
Una is an artist and writer. She has published four graphic novels. Her first graphic novel Becoming Unbecoming is a memoir that explores a difficult childhood in Yorkshire in the 1970s. It has been widely translated, featured on BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour, Radio 3 Free Thinking, New York Times, Newsweek and Oprah Magazine. Becoming Unbecoming was adapted into theatre in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Una’s other graphic novels are On Sanity, which explores her mother’s experience of psychosis, a short novel Cree, about a group of women in Stanley, County Durham, who support one another through friendship and creative activity, and Eve, an end of the world story about the changing climate in the UK. Previously, Una worked in community arts education and as a university lecturer. She is Dr Una and was recently a visiting scholar at the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing. Una is currently a Research Associate at the Centre for Criminology, Oxford where she is researching representations of violence in popular culture. Una left school at 16 with one ‘O’ Level in English Language.
On Sanity by Una included in ticket price
Eve and Becoming/Unbecoming available from author on the day
Virago Women’s Workshop is a place for women and girls to be inspired, to create, and to enjoy the support and company of a women only space.
