[Katy Evans-Bush]

Well, they're probably the Oxbridge way... don't want the hoi polloi coming in now do we!

KEB

[peter richards]

Young is a relative term, but while I was still living in the same town as my primary school, two other young poets and myself decided to go along to a meeting of the local poetry society. It was easy to find because it was in my old primary school. We were not members so we weren't allowed in. We went to the pub instead and composed something to declaim to the exiting members. We'd no doubt have declaimed it to the exciting ones as well, had there been any, as we were very even handed like that. We never got to know about such qualities in the members, however, as (I assume because we were young and crass), we were utterly ignored in spite of our efforts to gain attention.

I don't know if it means anything at this great remove, but I have no expectations of the establishment.

[diprinzio]

Thanks for posting that link, Katy. That conference looks excellent. I'm making plans right now to be there for the reading as I'll be in Italy around that time. Are you going? It would be nice to hook up with some UK Eratospherians.

[Duncan Gillies MacLaurin]

Well, I'd have thought that the closest thing to West Chester in the UK was StAnza, which takes place in mid-March in St. Andrews in Scotland - which may explain Rose's dream.
http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/standrew...za/index06.htm

Duncan

[This message has been edited by Duncan Gillies MacLaurin (edited June 19, 2006).]

[Katy Evans-Bush]

Okay hi guys, I'd just like to state here that when I made the remark about the hoi polloi earlier it was purely and merely a joke about what I took to be an amusingly old-fashioned Oxbridge reluctance to advertise (so common, don't you think), possibly in the same vein as the U and Non-U conversation that was going on elsewhere last week; and to distinguish between Balliol College and the rest of England (and indeed Britain) which are full of advertising, having no such scruples.

Personally I'd love to be able to go to the readings and even hear Ricks' lectures, were I in Oxford.

Greg, I'm not sure yet whether I'll be there. We can keep in touch on it.

KEB

[Eloise Stonborough]

Originally posted by Alan Wickes:
Hi Katy,
It's a shame that some of the leading creative writing university departments such as Warwick or East Anglia don't do something along the lines of West Chester, but then again, they are not particularly active in the small mag. market, unlike their American equivalents.

Firstly, This imaginary conference/festival thing sounds brilliant. All we have to work out is who is going to sponsor it.

Secondly, say Warwick and UEA are the best creative writing unis, even then, are they worth going to, ie. would one learn something about writing there that couldn't be picked up on one's own, whilst doing a pure English degree?
I'm suddenly having to decide what unis I am going to apply to and I was thinking about having some creative writing courses on my list.

Thanks,
Eloise

[Katy Evans-Bush]

Eloise, are you doing your A levels now? I mean, are you about to go for your undergraduate degree? I'd say do English lit for a BA - you can always do a creative writing MA later. The grounding in reading and critical awareness has to be worth it for developing your own writing.

I'm not sure about the absolute merits of a creative writing degree; it's a great way to build a network of creative peers, and mentors as well, though of course that can be done in other ways. If I were doing an MA in poetry to be honest I would probably go to the Royal Holloway, which is where Andrew Motion is based now, but I don't really know about undergraduate courses.

If you plan to stay in London and want a workshop to go to, send me a pm and I'll let you know what's around. Have you checked out Roddy Lumsden's evening classes at City University?

(And yes, it can be combined! Depends how much you want to do it. A friend of mine, back when Michael Donaghy taught the classes, used to commute down on a Wednesday evening from Oxford, where she was doing her degree, to Michael's class. And I hear Roddy's a great workshop facilitator.)

KEB

[Eloise Stonborough]

I'm just at the end of my A levels and about to take a gap year (I wanted a year out to write and travel). I was always going to apply for English Lit, with Oxford as my first choice (if I get my As) but I have 6 choices and I was thinking about putting a couple of combined English/CW courses on there. I probably won't though, I wouldn't want half an English degree and I can always do workshops or whatever in my own time, if I need to.
I'll look up Lumsden's workshop, it sounds very interesting, and as I said, I have a free year now so I should be able to find the time to go to the odd one!
Thanks so much for your help,
Eloise
(English A level tomorrow--Blake and Measure for Measure, nervous insomnia kicks in.)

[David Mason]

I'd say study Chinese and business.

[Eloise Stonborough]

Originally posted by David Mason:
I'd say study Chinese and business.

That would be remarkably sound advice if I didn't want to be an academic, it's fine though--I have a written contract with a friend who is studying international economics that she has to keep me fed and watered.

Eloise