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This month I submitted a story to the Scottish Book Trust mixing a fairy tale with my journey through the PhD. You can see my entry here. Emma’s Red Coat - Scottish Book Trust If you would like to know more about my work some initial thoughts are published here:- Parfitt, E.L. 2014. Storytelling as a trigger for sharing conversations. Exchanges: the Warwick Research Journal. 1(2).

(based on the genius song "Agony" from Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim) Did I abuse this (educational opportunity) by showing distain? My brain’s feeling mashed up. I might just lose it; tormented I’m reeling from frontal lobe pain! Agony! VIVA’s out of my reach When you’ve had an idea Yet that idea it still defies speech Alone at my desk I sit by the hour Tearing my hair Tense and confused, frequently screaming A song of despair Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-                                          Agony!     Caught my tongue in a draw Trying to write is like trying To fight Je Suis Charlie , and more Agony!                      ...

In September I was invited to Minneapolis by Professor Jack Zipes to participate in the work of Neighborhood Bridges. This involved presenting my research to staff, teachers and teaching artists of Neighborhood Bridges, meeting with academics, and going into a number of different schools to see the project in action.  A brief overview of Bridges Walker Sculpture Garden (Spoonbridge and Cherry by Claes Oldenburgh) Bridges is recognised by the US Department for Education as a national model for arts education. Highly trained teaching artists take storytelling and drama into schools and work with the teacher and their classroom from autumn to spring. The breadth of the work is impressive as Bridges works with almost forty teaching artists and teachers in schools across Minneapolis. I assisted four teaching artists in the class room during their first sessions. The teaching artist works with the teacher and a classroom of approximately twenty to thirty young people...

My trip to the conference and the Beyond the Boarders storytelling festival inspired the following short piece which I dedicate to everyone present this year.   [Picture from Redbubble.com]   Memories beside the sea The trees watched the people as they approached; but the people weren’t aware that the trees were watching. For time unmeasured the trees of the grove danced with the wind beside the sea. One day some people came. The trees didn’t understand why. The figures looked like small saplings to the trees. Saplings that pounded their roots on the ground but not in the earth; that drank water but not with their roots; that sang but not with the liquefied earth that the trees felt effortlessly flow through their trunks and branches. These saplings pounded the earth and drank water until they couldn’t walk, and sang until they couldn’t talk. And when the sun had set and risen three times the saplings, being uprooted, left for another place. The trees saw what...

Thanks to Tanith Lee I’ve planned a live lounge for Iggy members to discuss Wolfland . Wolfland is one of my absolute fav ourite reworkings of Little Red Riding Hood so I would recommend this one. Tanith Lee is a British fantasy author. She is the author of more than 70 novels and almost 300 short stories. The story is one in a collection of reworked fairy tales ‘Red as Blood’ edited by Ellen Datlow and Terry Windling and it might remind you of a very familiar fairy tale you know! Special permission has also been granted by Tanith Lee herself to distribute the story to Iggy members who want to take part in the live lounge. We’ll be looking at the story critically and discussing writing style and fairy tale motifs along with as well as reflecting on images in the writing, and what the story tells us about femininity and gender. Such as what the author captures about men and women’s perceived roles in society. It’s going to be a lot of fun.

When I met with Jack Zipes in November 2013 to talk about my research into storytelling he kindly invited me to Minneapolis, US, to work with Neighbourhood Bridges, a charity for underprivileged youth advancement in literacy and communication skills. Neighbourhood Bridges is recognised by the US Government for as a national model for arts education. The catch of course being that I had to raise the money to go. I was advised and supported in my application to the departments IMPACT fund by my supervisor, Mick Carpenter, Anton Popov and Martin Prince ( MYPLACE ), and Nickie Charles. This Monday in a meeting with the head of the Sociology department Professor John Solomos I was awarded funding for my trip this coming September. Success! A big thank you for everyone who gave me advice and support. This month I also met with Professor Simon Williams , due to his interests in the Sociology of Emotions. He gave me a friendly grilling about my research questions and methodology,...