Waterstone, Reading in Enfield

I am glad to say that I am happy to be a Shangwe writer. Having met Nicole in 2008, it has been an interesting journey in a creative kind of way. Over the years, developing my theme of what I write about and how I write, on reflection, is also proving to be an interesting process, as it looks quite autobiographical and a kind of unconscious process unfolding from my internal world.

As an introduction, Shangwe promotes and helps to develop writing and literature of Black British & Mixed Race women writers. True to the word, the same day I met Nicole Moore, Founder and promoter, in the Poetry Cafe, Covent Garden, she asked me to send her some work to showcase on her blog at http://shawana-lulu.blogspot.com/2008_09_01_archive.html, and there I am telling a story of certain significance about ‘remembering and not forgetting’. I seem to recall reading Freud's Introductory Lecture 1 and reading something about ‘parapraxes, slips and forgetting...’ and how in the forgetting there is a process of actually remembering. I suppose that was what I wanted to achieve by writing the poem on ‘US’.

Whereas my poem on ‘Us’ forms part of a compilation of book one of my autobiography, http://shawana-lulu.blogspot.com/2010/02/love-what-is-it.html, is an extract of book two, the follow on of me moving forward in my life. However, in moving forward this does not necessarily mean that I have forgotten events whether serious or minor in my life, as I believe all things that happen have a sense of a profound learning or explanation. In fact, ‘Love What is It’ came a little less than 2 years later having written over 300 poems processing who I am and my phantasies of others. Yet, there is a truth associated to this poem of me coming to know the thoughts of someone that led me to write that.

It has not been easy developing myself as a writer, as much time was needed to be given to exploring the mind of Freud and his contemporaries and the dual process of personal therapy to complete my training as a Psychodynamic Therapist and an analytical writer of Psychodynamic Thought.

There just seems to be something about a deeper understanding of psychology that adds flavour to writing about my experiences, human behaviours and outcomes, in the way that I choose to write!

Having completed foundation training at the Richmond Adult Community College, a Post Graduate Degree in Counselling at the Goldsmiths, University of London, and a Poet's Performance & Page course at The Arvon Foundation, I must say that this has given me more power to enrich not just my writing but my confidence and life too in reaching out to achieve whatever I want to do or be.

Well not so long ago, I was happy to have been asked to contribute to Nicole’s new book, comprising of her work and a collection of Black and Mixed Race writers’ contributions, me being one of them, of course, making my first published work in an anthology, launched in June 2010 at the Edmonton Green Library. I suppose that makes me a published writer then, doesn’t it. That being the case, I must also express my enjoyment of writing to a loyal online audience since 2008 as well.

I am delighted to take up another offer to read my contribution to the new book at a Waterstone event, Hair Power - Skin Revolution: A Collection of Poems and Personal Essays by Black and Mixed-race Women, edited by Nicole Moore.

http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayDetailEvent.do?searchType=2&store=611

WATERSTONE'S ENFIELD&sFilter=1 (please copy and paste this address into your url for event details).

Courtsey Nicole Moore

http://www.shangwe.com/

SKIN LAYER 1

In the room by myself
With the TV on
In the background.
I put my laptop to use,
Whilst I look at my skin
And note how smooth
It is and how I feel calm.

But soon enough,
A memory emerges
Of how ....

(c) Jennifer Hooper 2009-2010

Do come along to hear this intriguing and interesting read live on 17th Sept 2010 at Waterstone, 26 Church St, Enfield, (7 mins from Enfield Station), 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm, FREE ENTRY.

Returning back to when I first met Nicole, that immediate response of interest in me and my work did help me to have the confidence to take pride in my work as a new writer then, and has continued to have that effect until now.

As I continue to develop my theme on conflict and autobiographical phantasies, I do look forward to maintaining an online presence for some time. However, I assure you, there is something gripping about hearing the muse in person, as I am someone who likes to tell stories with a certain aspect of truth about them giving rise to the process of analysis within the listener.

Strachey, J., 1991. Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud, Volume 1. London: Penguin Books

Jennifer


Second Anthology - Poetry Rivals' Collection 2010 - The Passions of the Poet - a collection of poems for adult writers, entered with 'Inferiority-Superiority Syndrome' (c) Jennifer Hooper 2010.

http://creativecounsellingtherapy.blogspot.com/2010/07/superiority-inferiority-syndrome.html

Poetry Rivals 2010
http://www.poetryrivals.com/

Arvon Foundation
http://www.arvonfoundation.org/p1.html