Meeting some (very) young writers in London
I was in London last month, doing some archival research for The Book of Thistles and for a new performance essay. While I was there a friend asked me to come and talk about writing and being a writer with a group of 10-year-old students in Dalston. (I knew this part of town well when I lived in London—but that’s another story.) This is me with some of the group.
We had a great afternoon. Although a few of the group were a bit disappointed I didn’t know any celebrities, they had plenty of other questions. Some I could answer, and some tricky ones. (What is my all time favourite book? Still mulling over that one.)
Why don’t you write for children? Several times I got asked that. I have written for young people, teenagers and early 20s, and some of my performance writing includes child characters (Archie in We are the Ghosts of the Future; Melli in Scratchland#) but I haven’t written specifically for 10-year-olds. After meeting the Dalston kids, I feel inspired to give it a go. Why not? Performance, poetry or prose?—let’s see how it evolves and which form emerges.
Noëlle Janaczewska 