Day 18 - Thursday, March 22, 2007

We decided it would be a great idea to try and reach a lot of people by taking some exhibition space in a shopping centre. The idea was that people who visited shopping centres weren't necessarily readers or people who visited libraries, and that this way we could promote the Quick Reads series more widely to the general public.

With this in mind, we booked some space at the Quadrant Shopping Centre smack bang in the middle of Swansea, and invited Swansea Libraries to join us to showcase what libraries have to offer these days. People are still a bit stuck with the old image of libraries being a stuffy place with a bossy librarian, and this is a difficult image the libraries are trying to shake off. These days libraries are really more about being a resource for communities to use for all kinds of things, and there's rarely a 'no talking' rule any more.

In the afternoon, Lleucu covered my post on the stand as I had to rush up to the Dragon Arts and Learning Centre where Lynne Barrett-Lee, author of one of last year's Quick Reads and ghost-writer of Fiona Phillips' book A Day to Remember, was doing a workshop with a creative writing group.

The Dragon Arts Centre provides free arts and training classes and opportunities to anyone who has experienced homelessness or social exclusion and who may have difficulty accessing mainstream education. They do this through a wide range of activities and events both on and off-site. They are also a member of "Open College Network Wales" which enables their members to gain nationally recognised accredited qualifications for the work they do and produce at the centre.

Lynne talked to the creative writing group about how she goes about putting a story together and gave them handy hints about how to get those creative juices flowing. Lots of the members were keen to know how to go about getting their work published, and Lynne gave an insiders' view on the best way to go about this.

The group was very enthusiastic, and whilst Lynne had a break, they came up with their own ideas for stories. As with the prisons workshop, the work was very honest, and sometimes shockingly so. Some stories included description of violence and homophobia, drug and alchohol abuse and feelings of alienation. Although none of the group mentioned explicitly that the stories were autobiographical, it was obvious that they wrote from first-hand experience.

At the end of the session, Lynne got a lovely surprise when a member of the group who had taken photos at the start of the session presented her with a beautifully framed picture of herself with the group as a momento of the day. Thanks to everyone at The Dragon Arts and Learning Centre.