Thoughtful Tuesdays: Nostalgia

Photo (c) Jimmy Lee Photography

When I look back over the past 10 years, I can see all the opportunities I’ve had from the initiative. Who’d have thought I’d be editing a page for the magazine, all through lockdown and beyond? In fact, being part of Pen to Print was a real lift in those lockdown days. I’ve learned so much, tried so many different ideas and outlets.

I’ve also made friends, real and in the virtual world and have taken risks: running my own workshops, planning a writer’s retreat, writing, editing, interviewing and much more besides. My Book Challenge success led to my being mentored by professional writers and my two novels: The Ogress Of Reading and Never Not In My Thoughts being published.

The pictures below show some of us and our adventures from the early days. Many of the faces here are still a vibrant part of Pen to Print.

Here is the video of our latest Christmas poem. I adapted this from The Twelve Days Of Christmas in order to reflect the fun we haven give you a sense of the community we have built. I hope you enjoy watching and listening as much as we’ve had putting it together! Thanks also to Palak Tewary for the great production.

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I asked for some thoughts about the difference Pen to Print has made to us and can share them with you now.

First, our Editor Madeleine tells us:

Write On! came about because, after 36 rejections for my debut novel Mother Of Floods, I decided to try a different tack. Having entered the Pen to Print poetry prize after finding it on the internet, I was placed and invited to come to the awards ceremony. Here’s me with my certificate in 2018. But along with my mother (Jo Renton who also writes for us sometimes), I brought some magazines I’d previously created, including Nina; the poem I’d dedicated to it being the one I got placed in the competition for (see below).

I was able to convince Lena Smith and Zoinul Abidin they needed to meet with me to discuss the creation of a magazine for Pen to Print; something for and by writers.

That was in June 2018. We’re now in December 2024 and about to publish issue 23. I’m so pleased I didn’t take no for an answer, either from the agents or publishers (MOF was published in 2020), or indeed Pen to Print, when I suggested the magazine idea.  It’s amazing the powerful new pathways that can come from things that initially seem like failures and I’m eternally grateful for the resilience that has kept me going and for Pen to Print and the volunteer team members who have made it all possible!

Nina 

(Celebrating Nina Iraq Magazine  a women’s empowerment magazine I launched for The World Bank in 2014.) 

Nina is timeless and placeless
But holds also the heart of Iraq,
A place for the woman who’s faceless
To discover that the world has her back.
A place for the woman who’s nameless
To discover that things she has done
Support the growth of a nation…
Part of a global web being spun.

By reflecting this voice in her pages
And valuing truth above all
Nina’s strength is the story of ages
With hope as a clarion call.
The voice of a nation united, that reflects both new and old ways
By lighting a path for tomorrow, Nina connects our todays.

© Madeleine F White, 2014

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Here, Juneha shares her thoughts:

My Start

I had a passion for putting words together.
But I didn’t know where to start.
When scattered note-filled scrapbooks
with my humour and my heart.

It was the only thing I could spend hours doing.
But I still didn’t know where to start.
The chaotic mind plastered with
creative thoughts mere wannabe works of art.

And then a friend of mine told me about Pen to Print,
knowing I didn’t know where to start.
But the Book Challenge triggered overwhelm –
as it all seemed too hard.
Until right before the deadline
Still having no idea where to start.
Staring at a blank page, I filled it
with the contents of my heart.

My entry got shortlisted
But I still didn’t know where to start.
Until Ian, my mentor broke the process down
into manageable parts.

And, when I won the competition,
it really touched my heart.
A new found confidence, a sense of direction.
I finally knew where to start.

A community of writers
supporting each other
for the marathon and not just the sprint.
My words have now have an avenue and
it’s all thanks to Pen to Print.

© Juneha Chowdhury, 2024

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Here’s a newsy update from Farzana, our Thursday Connectors editor.

Ten Years On…

My writing journey started when Pen to Print started ten years ago. Before this, I didn’t even know I had a knack for writing. Although I did write stories as a secret respite from raising my own children and fostering other people’s. When they all fell asleep, I had a bit of much-needed ‘me’ time!

My journey has been full of emotions; many highs and some lows. I’ve made so many lovely and loyal friends at Pen to Print and Write On! Honestly, the support and love I’ve received from the team has given me a confidence boost, kicking me on to keep going over the years when I’ve struggled with health and personal circumstances.

Some of my highlights include: winning the Book Challenge, being mentored by Barbara Nadel and publishing my debut novel, Sweethearts Of Ilford Lane. I even found an agent, and enjoyed the perks of the book industry for a while as an agented author.

As the editor of my own Thursday Connectors page for Write On! magazine, I’ve been showcasing writing from people from all over the world. I love how diverse and inclusive my page is. And if you ever start reading it (if you haven’t already), you’ll get to know me better than my mum does because, for the last five years since the magazine started, I’ve been telling you about me and my monthly shenanigans!

This has definitely empowered me to find my voice and, when I began hosting my own creative writing and storytelling workshops for Pen to Print, it was a joy to encourage others in their journeys towards empowerment, too. I run these workshops during Women’s Empowerment Month, South Asian Heritage Month, Islamophobia Awareness Month, as well as generally, for Councils and projects all around London.

I now work as a project manager, an oral historian, a local researcher and storyteller on various projects. I’m also on a mission to de-colonise the literary curriculum at schools and have been doing lots of work at primary schools. I’m both surprised and delighted at the many doors that have opened up for me.

Pen to Print helped me realise writing doesn’t necessarily mean having lots of books out –  there’s so much more a person with writing skills can do instead within their community.

So, from a stay-at-home mum, to a published author and now project manager, it’s fair to say it’s been a blessed ten years for me.

Thank you, Pen to Printers and Write On’ers. Big hugs to you all and here’s to many more years together!

© Farzana Hakim, 2024

Thanks for sharing your memories, Madeleine, Juneha and Farzana.

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Finally, we were all feeling a bit sad and nostalgic when we learned that the Dagenham Girl Pipers are calling an end to their piping and adventures. There were some lovely clips of them on national TV News; they have a bit of a ‘National Treasure’ status.

So as a homage to nostalgia, I went back to a poem I’d written about them a while ago. (Incidentally, this was written during a Pen to Print workshop.) In an event supported and led by Anna Robinson, we had the chance to visit the Borough Archive and use the materials we found as inspiration for some poetry.

Pipers, Puppets And Pierrots

On reading about the Dagenham Girls’ Pipers trips abroad

What was it like for you –
lace at your throats and jaunty hats –
eighteen years old and far from home –
kilts swing above your knees and Argyll socks
piping, twirling, dancing, drumming
across a war-torn continent?

Posing on peaceful beaches
and exotic Eastern towns.
Concert party, puppets and Pierrots –
moving from place to place
by flying boat and sailing up the Nile.

Catching sight of a herd of elephants
for the first time, scared of the
crocodiles along the Nile;
huge footprints outside your rooms
from the hippos’ night stampede.

Playing for villagers in some remote place
they replied with music from their drums;
bagpipe music tempted lions
out of their melancholy
and restored their appetites.

Your looks and fair East London skin
drawing offers of romantic love.
Proposals in fifteen lands.

© Eithne Cullen, 2020

I’ll finish here, wishing you the happiest of Happy Christmases and sending all good wishes for the New Year!

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Issue 23 is out 12 December. You will also find it in libraries and other outlets. Alternatively all current and previous editions can be found on our magazines page here. 

You can hear great new ideas, creative work and writing tips on Write On! Audio. Find us on all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Google Podcasts and Spotify. Type Pen to Print into your browser and look for our logo or find us on Spotify.  

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