Well, as you know this blog likes to be diverse !
This Saturday, the Wild Coast Project goes inland to join the literati in a day of readings and presentations with a bird theme. The Conference brings together scientists and creative writers to explore the unique inspiration of birds, now and in the past. The one-day event will be chaired by Professor of Creative Writing, author and mythographer, Marina Warner and has brought together a diverse group of speakers to share and explore their own experiences of the bird world. As the winners of our recent Wild Writers creative writing contest will confirm, Wallasea Island is an inspirational place, so I hope my images of the wealth of wildlife and dramatic landscapes, presented in the afternoon session and in a foyer display, will entice these other shy creatures out of their garrets to come and experience the place for themselves. Art projects of all sorts will play a part in the Wild Coast Project over the coming years so perhaps some of these creative minds will be part of that.
Wallasea is a perfect muse. It has history; from the romance of Vikings and Saxons to World War II torpedo boats, and ancient grazing marshes to farming to feed the nation. It has wildness; coastal water that ebbs and flows washing its shores or surges with the winds that often scours its prairie landscape. And of course, the wildlife always speaks for itself - birds everywhere following the tides, hares racing across the upper marsh and the elusive water voles whose presence is only known by the holes in the banks of grassy ditches.
Our involvement in this event comes as part of our engagement with staff in the Creative Writing team and Department of Literature, Film and Theatre studies which runs an MA in Wild Writing. It is hoped that we can welcome students and artists of various disciplines to our project as it develops and our Youth and Education work grows. Watch out for news of workshops in the planning, to be announced soon.
For details of the conference click on http://www.essex.ac.uk/news/event.aspx?e_id=2881
Hope to see you there!!
I've gone wild on Wallasea!