News / 30 Oct 2024
Creative Writing students respond to Light Night Leeds animation
BA (Hons) Creative Writing
Students from BA (Hons) Creative Writing were invited to write a response to The Bookbinder, an imaginative projection by Illuminos and co-produced by The British Library, through a creative brief set in collaboration with Light Night Leeds and the British Library.
The Bookbinder installation illuminated The Queens Hotel last week for Light Night Leeds 2024. Inspired by the British Library collection, the artwork included a poem by Hamish Hendry, taken from Red Apple and Silver Bells, a book of verse for children illustrated by A. B. Woodward in 1887, which features at the beginning and end of the animation.
The brief asked students to respond to The Bookbinder animation, in any form or style that could be read aloud in under 60 seconds. The competition was judged by Jamie Andrews, Director of Public Engagement at the British Library; Natasha Howes, Principal Curator of Light Night Leeds; and Grace Holliday, BA (Hons) Creative Writing Senior Lecturer at Leeds Arts University, who were all impressed by the high quality of entries.
First year student Mimi Smith was selected as the winner as the judges felt the work most closely matched the feel and emotion of the animation.
“This was my favourite; love the use of language and rhyme like ricture/picture and pine/time. It communicates very well the idea of the library having a huge diversity of material that then has to be put in an order.”
Natasha Howes, Principal Curator of Light Night Leeds
Final year student Maya Nagra was awarded Highly Commended for her poem She, The Whale which the judges felt beautifully conjured the essence of a whale. Second year student Alec Bullet was awarded Commended for his poem The Trickerster! for his use of a distinctive and humorous voice.
“This is such a distinctive take on the film; the writer’s eye-catching things from a more oblique angle, and forging a powerful image from an image that others left hidden underneath the water. The whale being almost out of the frame was a plus for me.”
Jamie Andrews, Director of Public Engagement at the British Library
Mimi was invited to read her work at the Light Night Leeds VIP launch event on Thursday 24 October. You can watch a recording of the reading below, and read both Mimi and Maya’s poems on the Light Night Leeds website.
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Mimi Smith, BA (Hons) Creative Writing