Event overview
GLITS (Goldsmiths Literature Seminar)
How do you write meaningfully and dramatically about your own life? Is it a wise thing to do? Is it just navel-gazing, narcissistic self-indulgence or an important way of exploring your psyche, the events that have shaped you and the worlds you inhabit? Is it better to write ‘truthfully’ about life or embellish it with the tropes of fiction?
In this session, Dr Francis Gilbert will read from his autobiographical novel, Who Do You Love, and will discuss how and why he wrote the book for his PhD in Creative Writing. Exploring and sharing strategies such as mindfulness meditation and free writing, he will argue that effective autobiography is nourished when writers enter states of ‘flow’.
He will also show how fictional techniques can energise autobiographical writing and discuss the perils and pleasures of publishing autobiographical work. The session will be interactive so bring a pen and paper: however, it should be noted that no one will be required to read out their own work unless they want to.
Francis Gilbert is a Lecturer in Education at Goldsmiths, University of London teaching on the PGCE Secondary English programme. Previously, he worked for a quarter of a century in various English state schools teaching English and Media Studies to 11-18 year olds.
He has also moonlighted as a journalist, novelist and social commentator both in the UK and international media. He is the author of ‘Teacher On The Run’, ‘Yob Nation’, ‘Parent Power’, ‘Working The System -- How To Get The Very Best State Education for Your Child’, and a novel about school, ‘The Last Day Of Term’. His first book, ‘I'm A Teacher, Get Me Out Of Here’ (2004) was a big hit, becoming a bestseller and being serialised on Radio 4.
He has appeared numerous times on radio and TV, including Newsnight, the Today Programme and Woman’s Hour. In June 2015, he was awarded a PhD in Creative Writing and Education by Goldsmiths. His novel, ‘Who Do You Love’, will be published by Blue Door Press in 2017.
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Nov 2016 | 6:30pm - 8:00pm |
Accessibility
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