So I set out on an ice-bound Monday morning to Bishop Ellis primary school for my Polar Poet gig. How perfectly the weather chimed in with our Arctic theme! The kids have been studying the arctic for a month now and have already heard from a mountaineer. Perhaps because of that, their questions to me were on the rugged side - 'What do you do if a polar bear runs at you?' - 'how do you pee?' 'have you suffered from malnutrition?' I had to confess I arrived in the Arctic in a plane and stayed in a nice comfy hotel.
But I showed them the reindeer that I got to feed and the Saami herder we spent a morning with and best of all - the magnificent Northern Lights. The kids were beautifully behaved and there was a sea of hands everytime I asked for volunteers to help me perform my arctic poems. So we played games with the Northern Lights and took our reindeer herd on a trek. They learnt to say hello in Saami and did the Reindeer quiz and read 'The News from the North' on climate change. At lunchtime as I packed up, there were giggly girls calling out 'Hello Miss Polar Poet!' - so I think a good time was had by all.
The other excitement of the week was seeing the illustrations added to my book. By good fortune, my sister is a talented print artist. She's been working away on these fiddly woodcuts and we now have 6 beautiful pictures for the section pages dividing the poetry and prose. They punctuate the story of the book, giving little windows into this arctic world. I particularly love the one of the starry moss and blueberries I found on a Norwegian mountain. And we're actually looking at a mock-up of the front cover now - which makes me want to pinch myself!
About Me
- siobsi
- Leicester, East Midlands
- As a storyteller, my work crosses boundaries of myth, science, history and spoken word. It has been presented in the British Science Museum, Ledbury Poetry Festival, National Space Centre and the European Space Agency website. In 2014 I ran a digital residency on WW1 for 14-18NOW and Writing East Midlands. I teach Creative Writing at De Montfort University and have experience of leading school events, workshop tuition and mentoring. In addition, I co-run The Writers' Shed, a service for writers, at: https://www.facebook.com/TheWritersShed/
Friday, 13 February 2009
Sunday, 25 January 2009
My blog at last!
Well this is one of the New Year resolutions ticked off. I wanted to get my own blog because 2009 promises to be an exciting year on the writing front. And it'll unfold here ...
I'm working right now on putting the final touches to my book Firebridge to Skyshore, due to be published later in the spring by original press. It's been a fascinating process as this is my first book. I've spent 3 months finishing research for the articles about the science and mythology of the Northern Lights. In the middle of all that, we took another trip to Norway and got to see the Northern Lights at last - marvellous! - which added another final chapter to the book.
Recently, we've been gathering together all the bits and bobs like author's biography and acknowledgements and now I'm ready to start checking the 'proofs' - final mock-up of the pages that will go to the printers. And we've persuaded some published writers to sample the book and provide 'blurbs' for the back cover. Plus, my sister's been sending me piccies on the phone of the woodcut illustrations she's working on - very fiddly but they look wonderful.
And at the same time, I'm busy preparing for an unusual gig - I've been asked to go into a local primary school who are doing a project on the arctic. In a fortnight or so, I'll be appearing in a school hall full of 9-11 year olds as the 'Polar Poet'. We'll be exploring the arctic through performance of my poems together and lots of pictures too. My youngest audience yet - but I think it'll be great fun!
Anyway - if you've ever wondered what writers actually do - or how books get from their addled brains to a bookshop - watch this space. And it'd be lovely to hear your thoughts along the way.
I'm working right now on putting the final touches to my book Firebridge to Skyshore, due to be published later in the spring by original press. It's been a fascinating process as this is my first book. I've spent 3 months finishing research for the articles about the science and mythology of the Northern Lights. In the middle of all that, we took another trip to Norway and got to see the Northern Lights at last - marvellous! - which added another final chapter to the book.
Recently, we've been gathering together all the bits and bobs like author's biography and acknowledgements and now I'm ready to start checking the 'proofs' - final mock-up of the pages that will go to the printers. And we've persuaded some published writers to sample the book and provide 'blurbs' for the back cover. Plus, my sister's been sending me piccies on the phone of the woodcut illustrations she's working on - very fiddly but they look wonderful.
And at the same time, I'm busy preparing for an unusual gig - I've been asked to go into a local primary school who are doing a project on the arctic. In a fortnight or so, I'll be appearing in a school hall full of 9-11 year olds as the 'Polar Poet'. We'll be exploring the arctic through performance of my poems together and lots of pictures too. My youngest audience yet - but I think it'll be great fun!
Anyway - if you've ever wondered what writers actually do - or how books get from their addled brains to a bookshop - watch this space. And it'd be lovely to hear your thoughts along the way.
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