THE ALLEYNIAN 708 | OUT OF THE ORDINARY
THE ALLEYNIAN 708 | OUT OF THE ORDINARY
CREATIVE WRITING
Adventures inspace
JosephineAkrill
O ne of the luxuries afforded by this digital Alleynian is that of space. In this edition, we have not had to agonise about how many double-page spreads could be allocated to each section without blowing the budget. The space of the white page is something feared by many writers. At a good writing group, the gentle or humorous nudge of a writing prompt can propel a writer beyond that fear. Equally, the desire to share with other supportive writers can help individuals conquer anxieties about how their work might be received. WordSmiths, Chameleon Creative Writers and Upper Case are our writing groups for Lower, Middle and Upper School students. The groups give boys the opportunity to share their love of the written word and, to quote Daniel Kamaluddin (Year 9), they provide ‘something calming to look forward to at the end of a busy week’. WordSmiths, the longest-running of the three groups, began in 2014. One of its very first members, Jack Probert, now in Year 13, was named Goldsmiths Young Writer of the Year in November 2019, for the short story which opens this section. In July 2019, Arjaan Miah (Year 11) was highly commended by the 2019 Orwell Youth Prize judging panel for his reflective piece entitled ‘Apologies’.
Writing goes on all over the school. There are so many opportunities and outlets, from the New Views project, in which pupils learn to write original drama scripts, and occasional departmental publications, to assembly, society and chapel talks. The writing going on in classrooms, and (especially at the moment) in homes, is an outpouring of ideas, arguments and stories which are crafted, shared, honed and enjoyed throughout our community. We do hope that you enjoy this extended creative writing section, as well as the extraordinary images which accompany them, provided by the Art Department. Any student who feels inspired to try out one of the writing societies next academic year will receive a warm welcome, as well as plentiful tea and biscuits. There is never any compulsion to share your work. Just come and put pen to paper, then see what happens! Jack won the Goldsmiths award for the short story printed below. The judging panel felt that his story ‘stood out for its ambition and accomplishment. Multiple layers and voices mix fairytale and realism together to create a narrative of power, skill and feeling, all within the very challenging limit of 1000 words.’ The elements that had to be included were the title, ‘This is the Night’, one line of dialogue, ‘Can we stop for a minute?’, and one object, a ladder. Jack’s title, ‘This is the Night – by Mo Ayari, 7C’, gives a clue to its multi-layered approach.
Image: Elie Esber (Year 11)
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