Wales’ National Writing Squad: Building a community of young writers
This blog is from Dr Aiysha Jahan, a writer and lecturer in Creative Writing at Cardiff University in Wales. Aiysha is particularly interested in supporting underrepresented writers and writing and fostering community through writing and reflects here on how communities of young writers are created.
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Although it will take over six hours to get to the Ty Newydd Writing Centre in the Northwest of Wales, I look forward to the residential weekend. We’ll be meeting the National Writing Squad in person for the first time: fourteen writers aged 16-18, seven of them writing in Welsh, the other half in English. They live all across the country, and some of them will take train, bus and taxi to get there.
We come together in the library at Tŷ Newydd, a Grade II* listed building, first built in the fifteenth century. The young people are excited. They are the most promising young writers in Wales right now and this weekend is a chance for them to get to know each other and build a writing community together. They hit it off right away. Over the course of the weekend we eat meals together, play games, and I guide the English squad members on a nature walk along the Afon Dwyfor – the rain holds off just long enough for us. There are writing workshops, of course, in Welsh and English, and it is a pleasure for me to be their English tutor.
Walk along Afon Dwyfor
I’m working on this project as part of Cardiff University’s partnership with Literature Wales. I once taught at secondary schools and the Literature Wales’ National Writing Squad programme is the kind that every school English teacher would wish for their talented writers: writing workshops, one-to-one mentoring, sustained support and development over the course of a year and beyond. I am so honoured to be a part of these young writers’ journeys.
During the open mic on Saturday evening, we listen to writing the squad members have done during the day. I applaud the English poems the river walk has inspired, I cheer just as loudly for the stories in Welsh. I marvel at the young writers’ willingness to share with us and each other. We have long journeys back to our homes on the Sunday, but the young people linger. They share numbers, set up group chats. We are already planning our next residential. This time in the Southeast: at Cardiff University.
