Scrivener Series at UCA
 

Against the lowering approach of hurricane Gonzago, yesterday evening saw the first of this term’s Scrivener Series talks here at UCA Farnham. I organised this series of events because I assume though I’m a very interesting person indeed, students probably tire of hearing my constant ramblings about Medieval conceptions of moral agency and my love of ale. I reflected that they probably want to hear from writers, publishers and thinkers about things such as literature, creativity and so forth…

 In this first session, novelist, dramatist and lecturer Hannah Vincent read from her debut novel ‘Alarm Girl’. ‘Alarm Girl’ details the struggles of a young girl to understand death, otherness and familial loyalty against the backdrop of post-apartheid South Africa. I’ve read the novel and thought it was a supple and tender piece of work. Give it a go.

Hannah read from the start of her novel before taking several volleys of questions from students and staff. We discussed the current state of creative writing in HE, how a new writer can get into publishing and how the writer must ‘ventilate’ their novels for the sake of the reader.  Most interesting of all for me was the discussion of some of the differences between drama (a collaborative form) and prose (a solitary form). Being experienced in both areas, as well as having been a script editor of the BBC, Hannah was refreshingly comfortable with the different demands of each medium and she spoke convincingly about how writers should learn to recognise and  adapt to different forms, as opposed to closing themselves down in terms of style, genre or subject. This is of course not easy to do and Hannah was clear that such openness is not automatic, it is a muscle that needs to be exercised. 

After this, I tried to chip in with anecdotes about Medieval conceptions of moral agency and my love of ale, but the room found Hannah far more interesting. Overall, it was a fun, informative and friendly event and I was really happy with the numbers and the quality of the questions.

    

    Hope to see many people there for the next of the Scrivener Series!

Dr Craig Jordan-Baker