Published in association with the London Borough of Waltham Forest (https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/Pages/index.aspx)
Dear writers, readers and friends,
We are thrilled to launch the September issue of Visual Verse in partnership with the London Borough of Waltham Forest, drawing on their rich archives to present an image of London’s past.
This unique borough is in the grip of swift gentrification – from Hackney and Leytonstone to Walthamstow and beyond. Change at this pace can sometimes be unsteadying, but this is where we see initiatives emerge that are especially designed to keep communities bound tightly. One such initiative is the Poetry Room in Leyton Library, launched this year to offer a place for local writers to meet each other, share their writing and work in a supportive environment.
To celebrate this, and the borough’s present and past commitment to arts and culture, we invited four writers with local ties to lead this month’s issue. Our visual prompt comes from Vestry House Museum and depicts a holiday scene from years gone by – when the world was still big and mysterious. We are thrilled with the diversity of responses this beautiful image evoked in the writers.
We kick off with Linda Mannheim (http://www.lindamannheim.com/) whose most recent book, Above Sugar Hill (Influx Press), was longlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize and was a #readwomen2014 pick of the year. Linda’s stories are widely published, and she is also the author of the novel Risk (Penguin).
Bren Gosling (http://www.brengosling.com/) recently completed his first novel, The Street Sweeper. Represented by MBA Literary Agents, Bren’s work has been published in many anthologies and magazines, including Decongested Tales and Words and 4’33” Magazine, and has been performed by Liar’s League Hong Kong.
Ruth Goldsmith (https://ruthgoldsmith.wordpress.com/) is working on her first novel. Her short stories and their characters often take her by surprise.
Runner-up in the Hysteria Writing Competition, Clare Archibald (https://twitter.com/archieislander) was chosen to read at Edinburgh International Book Festival’s Storyshop for emerging writers in 2014. Clare is currently working on a novel, as well as a number of cross-arts collaborations. Her audio/text installation in the Project Afterbirth art exhibition, which opens in October 2015, will tour internationally for three years.
Throughout the month we will feature more Waltham Forest locals including Ana Brothers, Graham Clifford and Bill Foster. In the meantime, dear writers, what will you make of our image this month? Will it ignite a memory in you, or draw out your sepia tones?
Awaiting your words at www.visualverse.org/submit.
Preti and Kristen
with Josephine Regis, Cultural Programme Officer for Waltham Forest
https://www.visualverse.org