CARDIFF 75: BRINGING COMMUNITIES TOGETHER
Are you a writer living or working in Cardiff? Do you feel creative but isolated? Perhaps your writing group has struggled to keep going through the Pandemic?
An innovative new project called ‘Cardiff 75’ may be able to provide support. Designed to help strengthen the city’s diverse writing communities the project aims to bring people together to train, network and build partnerships. Through free to access activities and events participants will develop their literary and other talents and build confidence. Going forward the project will help provide the basis for a stronger Cardiff writing ‘scene’ – better connected and more resilient.
The project is the brainchild of Cardiff Writers’ Circle which marks its 75th anniversary this year.
“When eleven people came together in a room on 6th May 1947 to form Cardiff Writers’ Circle they probably never imagined that the group would be thriving seventy five years later in 2022. We are now the oldest continually running creative writing group in Wales and one of the oldest in the UK”
said Paul Jauegui, Chair of Cardiff Writers’ Circle.
“Rather than simply mark our own birthday we wanted to respond positively to the Pandemic by working with local writers from all backgrounds to celebrate and support creative writing in Cardiff . We hope that by the end of 2022 the Cardiff writing community will be just a little stronger.”
“Cardiff has writing groups and individual writers representing many communities and we invite them all to join us to celebrate and grow the city’s writing talent” he said.
Summer events include a Writers Gathering (Gorsedd) on Sunday 3rd July when seventy five or more local writers will get together with publishers and others to talk, network and discuss future collaboration. Speakers will include writers Philip Gross & Katherine Stansfield and activities will include open mic, a panel discussion and, of course, cutting the birthday cake.
“We are very grateful to Arts Council Wales, Literature Wales, Postcode Community Trust, Viridor and Prosiect Gwyrdd Community Fund, The Hyb, and Parthian for their generous support ” said Paul.
For further information on Cardiff 75 and how to participate go to: www.cardiffwriterscircle.cymru.
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CONTACT: Paul Jauegui tel: 07586 447541 email: cardiffwriterscircle@hotmail.com
About Cardiff Writers’ Circle
Our aims are to foster the art of writing in all its forms; to give help and guidance to members, especially those writing for publication; to provide a friendly and welcoming meeting ground for all persons who are sympathetic to these aims.
We meet every Monday evening and pride ourselves on our inclusive membership currently numbering approximately 40 adults from all backgrounds. A number of our current and past members are published writers. Our usual base is the YMCA in Shakespeare Street off City Road but since the Covid crisis some meeting are held by Zoom. Most meetings are ‘open manuscript’ in which members read from and receive constructive feedback on their work. There is zero censorship. Meetings are safe spaces for members at all stages of development to test out their work. Additionally, CWC holds five annual competitions: short story, poetry, flash fiction, and two for short humorous pieces. Our members have performed at open mike sessions at Cardiff’s Little Man and 200 Degrees coffee shops. We published Write on Cardiff, our first anthology in 2019 and early in 2021 ran a successful series of short story writing workshops led by Mab Jones for our members. The workshops were generously supported by Literature Wales.
