3 minute read
Trish Maude
In conversation with Maria Whelan
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Trish Maude
PM: Hello Mariah……. Thank you so much for taking part in our series, ‘A Conversation with……….’. Please tell us about yourself and about what you do. MW: I am Dr Mariah Whelan and was appointed to Homerton in October 2020 as the first Jacqueline Bardsley Poet-in-Residence. My interest in and love of poetry was first sparked whilst, in primary school in Oxford, we were encouraged to create free flowing poems, which we performed through speech, drama and dance, unhindered by any constraints of grammar. In secondary school we were encouraged to submit poems to national poetry competitions. I went on to read for a BA in English at Queen’s University, Belfast, honing my knowledge and understanding of poetry writing under the tutelage of Seamus Heaney and completing a module with the Irish poet, Medbh McGuckian, to produce a portfolio of poems.
I went on to teach English in Japan where I first became more conscious of the wider world and recorded this in my first book of poems, before returning to the UK to read for a Master’s in Creative Writing at Oxford. I was then fortunate to be awarded funding for 4 years, to undertake my PhD at Manchester, along with teaching students and completing my second book of poetry. Having completed this last year, I was very soon drawn to apply for the post at Homerton. To date, as a result of the constraints of the Coronavirus pandemic, I have spent just 3 days at the College in September and October 2020, just enough to have a taste of the opportunities that lay ahead.
PM: How was Homerton able to have a Poet-inResidence? MW: The Jacqueline Bardsley Residency was established by Dr Norman Bardsley in honour of his wife who was an alumna of the College and very sadly passed away a few years ago. Mrs Bardsley was a wonderful poet and Dr Bardsley funded the residency to help put poetry at the heart of Homerton life. The purposes of the Residency are firstly to help people to express themselves, through discovering and experiencing poetry, secondly, to foster community, and thirdly to continue to pursue my love of writing poetry.
PM: What projects have you been able to start so far? MW: In service of these purposes, to date, I have delivered two Creative Writing seminars each term, one of which was on writing Eco-poetry. I have introduced two new poets to the College, Mary Jean Chan and Marvin Thompson, given one-to-one supervisions to undergraduates and postgraduates, and contributed to several College projects including recent videos for students on Mental Health and Inclusion. I was invited to select and read poems at the College Armistice Day Act of Remembrance on 11/11/20 and for the College Service of Readings and Carols for Advent and Christmas.
PM: I have heard that you are interested in Homerton’s trees? MW: My most recent project, with support from another member of your RSMA, Stephen Tomkins whose expert knowledge of the trees in the Homerton grounds is amazing, is to produce a digital map in poetry of the trees in the grounds, including an aerial view. If funding permits plaques will be added to the trees represented, to complete the map.
PM: Thank you, Mariah, for taking us thus far on your journey from childhood to Poet-in -Residence. Just before you go, you invited us to participate in upcoming Homerton poetry projects. Please tell us more. MW: We have two upcoming poetry projects at Homerton. In our first project we are writing a collective ghazal about Homerton’s wonderful trees. I invited everyone in College to select a tree in the grounds and express their poem in just one two-line couplet. I will assemble these into an interactive poetry map of the grounds as mentioned above. To participate members were invited to email me via mw830@cam.ac.uk. For the second project I am collating an anthology of poetry written by Homerton members. If RSMA members would like to see their poems published, they can send them to me at the above email address. Finally, members are always welcome at our poetry-writing and poetry-reading workshops. Again, just drop me an email and I will add you to the mailing list of dates and times.
PM: We all look forward to the outcome of these projects, to learning more about your on-going work and to seeing you in person as soon as we can return to Homerton from our lockdown locations! Thank you and best wishes for success in all that you are doing as Homerton’s first Poet-in-Residence.
