As a BBC New Creative, I worked with Rural Media to write and produce a piece of audio. Inspired by the sound of my dad’s home in Northern Ireland and the difference in our accents, I wanted to explore identity, place and family. I had a wonderful time writing the piece and finding ways to interweave our voices. I recorded audio on location at Strangford Lough, and then my dad and I sent a day in the studio recording before the piece was mixed. I’m excited to link the audio once it has been broadcast.
Overhear is an innovative app tagging poetry to locations. I was delighted to be commissioned to write a piece to be geo tagged to a local business. I selected JuJu’s cafe. Situated by the canals and run by a wonderful, welsh descended family, it was the perfect fit. I decided to re-write part of Branwen’s tale from the second branch of the Mabinogion setting the mythical feast in 2019 in the front room of the restaurant. I had a lot of fun with the piece and even more fun making my way around Birmingham collecting the other poems. I will be uploading an extract of my piece soon.
PoArtry was a brilliant project to be a part of. Poets were paired up with an artist. There was a real variety of genres and mediums.
I was delighted to be paired with embroidery artists, Liz Griffiths. We worked collaboratively, creating pieces of work that directly engaged with the other’s art r writing.
This image is from the Gallery in May 2019. It features a manufactured ‘found’ poem in response to Liz’s embroidered ink spot. Click here for more of Liz’s artwork.
In February 2019 I was thrilled to read at the launch of the Verve Poetry Festival Anthology Closed Gates or Open Arms which my poem ‘Our Year Here’ was published. The collection includes some wonderful pieces of writing from local talent.
During February, I also took part and completed the 28PlaysLater challenge with TLC. For each day of February I wrote a fresh play, beginning, middle and end, inspired by a prompt sent that day. It was a lot of fun, and very challenging.
Heddwen Bethan 