Writing on the Wall Conference

Programme

Friday

Sean O’Brien’s keynote talk with his overview, contextualisation and response to Writing on the Wall.

Saturday

Jeremy Paterson’s key presentation on the use of historical material such as the Vindolanda Tablets in reconstructing what were then contemporary lives on Hadrian’s Wall.

Ellen Phethean was writer in residence for Seven Stories, in Byker and Writing on the Wall project.

The Byker Wall estate lies along the line of Hadrian's Wall. Working with local groups and individuals, particularly young teenagers, Ellen encouraged them to talk, think and write about their lives. These pieces became the basis of Wall, a set of poems.

Wall explores, in their own voices, the stories of people who live on the edge: disaffected youth, fractured families and nervous refugees struggling to fit in to a resentful culture.

Ellen will present her experiences and explore the value of writing workshops in an urban context.

Denisa Comanescu and Bill Herbert in a creative dialogue where themes connected to their commissioned works for Writing on the Wall will be explored and illustrated with use of the poems and other related works.

Lindsay Allason-Jones, Director of Archeological Museums for the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, will introduce participants to the joys of Roman inscriptions using the Museum of Antiquities’ world famous collection.

Linda France - Rings and Things : A Creative Writing Workshop
Precious objects once worn next to the skin and on the clothing of our Roman ancestors – rings, brooches, beads and pins – offer a direct link into the past, place and the imagination. This writing workshop will unlock the moods and stories suggested by various jewellery finds along the Wall. Everyone welcome.

Penny Grennan will talk about her own experience as a writer responding to Hadrian’s Wall and also about organising a creative writing group which drew participants from the mainly rural context of the Tyne Valley.

Peter Mortimer and Steve Chettle will discuss the development and delivery of Troubadours, a major project where a company of actors performed Off the Wall, a play specially written by Peter Mortimer and then literally walked 80 miles and presented at nine venues from Bowness on Solway to Wallsend.

Hafsa Bekri-Lamrani, Peter Mortimer, Farah Begum-Baig and Samuel Shimon will take part in a panel discussion about their role in, and experience of, Writing on the Wall and the Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site.

Alec Finlay, Linda France and Bill Herbert will present a structured reading event to explore themes, experiences and ideas relating to and associated with their work for Writing on the Wall.