Paddy Lyons

Paddy Lyons is Senior Lecturer in English Literature. Before coming to Scotland he taught in Ireland, at Trinity College Dublin and at the National College of Art, and in England, at the University of East Anglia. More recently, he has taught in the US, at Dartmouth College New Hampshire, where he was Visiting Professor in 1999; and in Poland, at the University of Warsaw, where he was on secondment 1994-97, and where he holds a personal professorship.

He has specialised in the poetry and drama of the Restoration - in particular: Rochester and Congreve. He maintains a strong commitment to Literary Theory, on which he has lectured widely, and was one of the last translators of Althusser into English to be authorised by Althusser during that philosopher's lifetime; his ongoing work on inter-relations between the literary and the history of literacy is conducted in an Althusserian perspective. He has been active, too, in promoting women's writing: he is editor of the widely-used 1818 text of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and (with the actress and novelist Fidelis Morgan) of Female Playwrights of the Restoration. He contributes to the faculty courses in comparative literature; and has written on a range of twentieth and twenty-first century writing: poetry, fiction, drama, and the cinema of Pedro Almodovar.

Carol Clewlow

A journalist by trade, Carol Clewlow’s first publication at the end of the l970s was a travel book, Hongkong and Macau, the second one to be published by the then fledgling but now famous Lonely Planet company. Her first novel, Keeping the Faith, written ten years later while a mature student at university was short listed for the Whitbread Prize first novel prize. Her second, the best selling A Woman's Guide to Adultery was translated into 15 languages and turned into a TV mini series while a third Love in the Modern Sense plus a number of her short stories have been read on Radio 4. As well as fiction, she has a keen interest in drama, adapting a further novel One For The Money, set in the rock music industry, for performance at the Edinburgh Fringe. The first writer in residence in a UK medical school, she is a founder member of Operating Theatre (http://www.operatingtheatre.org.uk/), based in Northern Stage in Newcastle, and at the Newcastle Medical School and for whom she has written more than a dozen plays on health and medical issues. Her latest novel, also a best seller, is Not Married Not Bothered. An experienced teacher of creative writing, she is currently working on a sixth novel.

Alison O'Malley- Younger

Hi, I’m Dr Alison O’Malley-Younger, Programme Leader for English and Creative Writing at the University of Sunderland. My role, along with Professor John Strachan, Professor Paddy Lyons (Glasgow) and the famous novelist Carol Clewlow is to act as part of an advisory body for the New Creative. It’s also my responsibility to raise funding to ensure that the quality of the publication continues to meet its high standards.

I’m delighted to see how the magazine has evolved to become an excellent forum for our students to publish their work alongside established writers. I love the striking, funky new cover designed by Max Strachan, (it’s hard to believe he’s only 15!). I also think the Blog is tremendous. Please post your comments and contribute to what is a tremendously exciting venture. Well done to Colin, Vikki, Rob and Stephen for developing this. Excellent stuff!

Creative Writing is going into orbit at Sunderland. For this reason we are extending admissions to our new English and Creative Writing degree into semester 2, (from February). This means you haven’t missed the boat if you want to join us. As the saying goes, though demand is high so contact us while there are still places. All you need to do is drop me a line on alison.younger@sunderland.ac.uk

Look out for writers coming to speak; get along to the Under the Sun Writers’ group. This is your chance to contribute and be a part of it all.

All that remains is to say ‘welcome’
Best Wishes
Alison

Max Strachan

It is my delightful pleasure to introduce Max Strachan. Max is 15, the son of Professor John Strachan from the school of Arts, Design, Media and Culture, and Joanne Strachan, senior lecturer in the School of Education. Also Max is a student at Durham Johnston School.

Max is our new creative artist, who has kindly agreed and produced the cover of The New Creative. The new cover is fantastically colourful and presents an artistically rendered portrait of a recognisable figure with a new twist and flare.

The New Creative Team

Hi everyone, just a quick message to say here is The New Creative team Vikki Callaghan (on the right), Stephen Carlisle (on the left) Rob Finnigan (on the top). Pictures of Colin Younger will soon be posted as he opted out of this particular shot but we will capture him on film soon.

Stephen

My name is Stephen Carlisle and I hail from the County Down coast in Northern Ireland. I am another of the contributors here on The New Creative. I am currently studying English and Journalism here at the University. This year is my final year and I am relishing the opportunity to once again be a part of the creative. My interests in literature revolve around modern gothic fiction.

I have been privileged to have been involved with the creative magazine project for two years, and I am particularly excited about the evolution of the magazine. I am looking forward to the fresh creative genius that is to fill our pages, and hearing the feedback from our variety of erudite contributors.

Looking ahead to the coming year, I am enthusiastic about the various challenges and rewards that it brings. Thanks once again for your continued interest, and heres to another successful year of ‘creation’.

Rob

Hey eveyone, Rob here just saying a few words about myself. I have recently joined The New Creative, am looking forward to reading, writing and viewing other peoples work. My main interests lie in the fields of Irish literarure, Gaelic poetry and drama.

'The poet writes always of his personal life, in his finest work out of it's tragedy, whatever it be, remorse, lost love, or mere loneliness; he never speaks directly as to someone at the breakfast table.' (W B Yeats)

'What we have to do is to bring poetry into the world in which the audience lives and to which it returns when it leaves the theatre; not to transport the audience into some imaginary world totally unlike their own, an unreal world in which poetry can be spoken. What I should hope might be achieved, by a generation of dramatists having the benefit of our experience, is that the audience should find, at the moment of awareness that it is hearing poetry, that it is saying to itself: "I could talk in poetry too!" Then we should not be transported into an artificial world; on the contrary, out own sordid, dreary, daily world would be suddenly illuminated and transfigured.'(T. S. Elliot- Poetry and Drama, 1951)

Colin

My name is Colin Younger. I am the new Editor and Copy Editor for the publication. I work in the School of ADM&C and am based in Ashburne House. For many years I have written songs, short-stories, script and poetry. Indeed, I had the great honour of having some of my poetry published in the first edition of The Creative, the publication which preceded this one.This is an exciting time in Creative Writing at the University of Sunderland. We have our new degree, ‘English and Creative Writing’ which is proving to be a huge success. Alongside this we have our Creative Writing group; ‘Under the Sun’. We will be meeting on the last Tuesday each month to workshop, do readings and peer critiques and encourage each other in our work. Do come along. You would be extremely welcome.

Vikki

Hi! I'm Vikki Callaghan, chief editor of The University of Sunderland's The New Creative. I have been on board since the debut edition of The Creative, released November 2006, and am happy to be going strong! My involvement is primarily through my passion for poetry, such as Wallace Stevens who will feature in our next issue, though I love contemporary Irish studies, in particular Marina Carr! Poetry should be fun, and I hope anyone who picks up the magazine will get this from it.

'A poem is an approach toward a truth. But poems can be funny, witty, quirky and sly.' (Kathleen Jamie).

'The culture believes in ghosts, certainly in the country. The banshee was a huge thing. I never saw the banshee, but my best friend in national school, Jacqueline Mitchell, was always trying to terrify me about her. She saw the banshee and her father saw and heard her when his mother died. In the city everything is forgotten now, everything is homogenized, and all of this seems so remote, but to me it's not remote - it's entirely natural. I'm a great believer in the whole angel thing, I don't know what I believe in, but I do believe in something.' (Marina Carr)

The New Creative

Hi everyone this is the new blog spot for The New Creative, The University of Sunderland's Creative writing magazine. Hopefully this blog will help spread the word about what we are all about. Basically The New Creative came about as a result of many students inquiring and questioning 'what makes poetry and what makes poetry good.' So it was decided that The New Creative would be created and students from all over the University of Sunderland, along with other universities would get together and write and publish poetry, short stories and short dramatic sketches- we are preparing for new issues to be publised, so please keep your eyes out for it.

"UNDER THE SUN"
University of Sunderland
CREATIVE WRITING GROUP:


Calling all creative people in Sunderland University!
Anyone who has any connection with the university and is interested in getting together with other writers, whether you are a beginner, have been writing for some time and want to know what other people will think of your work, or have been getting material published in magazines and so on – this is the place for you.

Meetings will be held on the last Tuesday of every month, at 6pm. The venue will be announced on posters around Priestman so keep your eyes open!

It will be primarily run by Vikki Callaghan, although where possible we will have Colin Younger down as he has a vast knowledge when it comes to creative writing! It will be based on the tried and tested group method of bringing along material to read to the group and getting or giving feedback on what you hear. Everyone will have the opportunity to read and be read at least once in a given semester and maybe even every meeting if the numbers and material permit.