The Freedom of Paper and Ink

When a student was asked to comment on what he had learnt from the Write Lines project his response was ‘the freedom of paper and ink’ we have taken his bold statement as the title of this anthology. The fruits of our young writers’ efforts lie in this book. Between these pages you will find rich, thoughtful and funny poems that demand to be read and talked about. These poems are not for display purposes only. Read them aloud, share them with a friend, or have one with your breakfast each morning.

A 200-strong audience at the Elliott Hall Theatre, Harrow Arts Centre, last year, witnessed this freedom. Young writers from five schools in Harrow performed poems that they had spent two months developing under the guidance and inspiration of professional poets. The language, confidence, and issues from the performances were truly moving. Students who were shy or spoke English as a second or third language were up on stage performing their poems proudly along with students who had never thought of expressing themselves in school, let alone doing so through poetry. Write Lines showed them that through poetry they could communicate with the world and write about what is important to them.

Sundra Lawrence is a poet and literature activist. She is an experienced tutor and has performed her work nationally and internationally. Sundra is the founder and Director of Write Lines. Her work has been broadcast on BBC2 and radio and is published in numerous anthologies including the Los Angeles Review. Starchild (2003) is her first mini-collection.