Thoroughly modern millennial

Tag: Books & Writing

  • Writing | Write Like A Grrl

    Write Like A Grrl

    Last Saturday I pulled myself out of bed at 6am and hopped off on the coach to Camden. Why? Well, I decided to see if I had what it takes to ‘Write Like A Grrl’.

    You may have seen some of my tweets already but just in case you haven’t here’s the lowdown on the organisation.

    ‘Write Like A Grrl‘ was a course developed especially for female writers. Founded in 2013 by Kerry Ryan, the aim was to help women of all writing abilities to overcome the barriers that stop them from writing and give them the skills to keep on going. They now run both six week and one day intensive courses In conjunction with ‘For Books’ Sake’.

    Over 200 women had passed through the courses and I was about to be one of them.

    (more…)

  • Poetry | Immigrant

    immigrant

     

    I am
    Immigrant
    Fresh off the plane
    A top my mother’s lap in Major’s England
    Roots set down in North London estates
    Promised better than the dustbowl of a Pacific Island upbringing
    Better among suburban middle class
    Blazing through Blair’s education system
    A model minority, paying taxes 
    Oh, she is just like us

    I am not like you
    I am an immigrant
    Forever reaping the benefits of passing
    Barely passing
    Yet somehow, always passing

    A foothold in my heritage
    Uncertain to speak out
    Am I coloured? Or does my light skin betray the confusion I feel?
    Please don’t be fooled by my clipped Queen’s English
    My 20 year strong citizenship is a comfort to you?
    I have a taste for taste for tea and Sunday roast dinners and can eat rice everyday
    It’s ok

    She can stay

    Have I betrayed my fellow immigrant?
    As they precariously sway on boats in Calais
    They are ‘they’
    But again, she can stay
    I am here to work
    To earn for Queen and country
    I know no other country as well as the UK
    Nationalist
    Loyalist
    Loyal to my country
    Be proud of your roots, they say

    They other me from them
    But I am one of them
    I am an immigrant
    I say

    *I wrote this piece way before the results on Thursday’s referendum, but thought it would be a good idea and good timing to post it today in the wake of the Brexit.

    What shakes me most after everything that’s happened more than the economic fallout, more than political unrest, more than the dumb memes and jokes, is the racist and bigoted rhetoric being used against immigrants and people of colour. Trade agreements may take two years, getting a new PM in place may take till October, people are saying ‘Oh it’s all over now, let’s stop banging on about it, but the hatred is here now and it’s louder than ever. It’s being shouted in the streets, written out on placards and whispered behind the backs of hardworking citizens – some of whom have actually been living, working, and paying into this country for decades. People who have come to this country to seek better in what they thought was a tolerant nation already feel unwelcome and are questioning their place in a country they thought they thought they were safe and accepted in. I know. I’ve seen it. I’ve witnessed it first hand.

    You may say this campaign was not targeted at me, to not take it personally.

    Well, to that I say. I am British, but I am also an immigrant. And a damn well proud one at that.

    And if you strike one of us, it’s a blow for us all.

    If you are a UK resident can I urge you sign petitions for a second referendum, to keep lobbying your MPs, march on and keeping fighting intolerance and anti-immigration rhetoric. We can make Britain great again if we stand together against hate.

    Ria

  • Reading Wrap Up #5

    wrap-up-5-header

    It’s been a pretty long time since I last rounded up all the books I’ve been reading lately. After a bit of a slump last year I’m finally back on track and surprisingly Here’s a round up of what I’ve been reading lately.

    Hawk | Jennifer Dance (Dundurn Press)

    “Hawk, a First Nations teen from northern Alberta, is a cross-country runner who aims to win gold in an upcoming competition between all the schools in Fort McMurray. But when Hawk discovers he has leukemia, his identity as a star athlete is stripped away, along with his muscles and energy. When he finds an osprey, “a fish hawk,” mired in a pond of toxic residue from the oil sands industry, he sees his life-or-death struggle echoed by the young bird.”

    Part social commentary on the environmental impact of the oil fields in Alberta, as well as their effect on the First Nation and indigenous communities, and part YA story of a family trying to pull themselves back together. Hawk is a really wonderful take on a now fairly common YA trope of a teenager living with a de-habilitating illness.

    Told in first person you really get a sense of Hawk’s inner fears as well as clear influences of his upbringing and background as a First Nations teenager. The use of folklore and narration, as well as the clear bond between Hawk and his grandfather is refreshing to read. Not to mention the story itself is a great example of how culture and politics can weave itself into a more personal narrative, whilst also remaining totally accessible to a YA audience.

    starratingstarratingstarratingstarrating

    (more…)