Hello, I’m Zoe Molloy, a writer from east London with an interest in people and their stories. Our theme remains ‘Difference’ and I have an exciting range of four compelling pieces for you to enjoy this week, from poetry and prose to novel excerpts.

First up, is this powerhouse work of prose, Difference, by Rachel Affiong Umoh, who is a Nigerian by descent but lives in the UK. She’s a Rehabilitation Practitioner, specialising in disability and mental health support and uses her love for writing to promote mental health awareness, disability rights and inclusion. Rachel’s foundation (Ray’s Haven) is used to support the rehabilitation and psychological wellbeing of both children and adults with disabilities in Africa. She believes in being a better person to make the world a better place.

Difference

For me, difference is the distinct value between two elements. In a cultural context, it’s about diverse beliefs, opinions and values. Before I delve deeper, I want to celebrate myself: my identity, my worth and the unique strength I hold. Black is beautiful. Black is rich. Black is resilient. Black is not just one colour; it reflects a spectrum of vibrant hues. Reading Black history has enriched my understanding of struggle, oppression and, ultimately, freedom. I’m proud of African leaders who made the fight for liberation worth it.

As a Black woman living in London, one of the most diverse cities in the world, I’ve concluded that ‘Difference’ is a mindset. I recall listening to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who shared how she never considered herself ‘Black’ until she moved to America and was labelled as a ‘Black woman’ in an unpleasant situation. She recounted her attempts to fit into American society until she was ready to embrace her identity and heritage.

This brings me to a key point: accepting your heritage. In trying to conform to societal norms, many Black and Brown-skinned individuals distance themselves from their culture. But in doing so, they become the first to stereotype themselves. You cannot reject your heritage and expect others to respect you. People cannot respect what they do not understand. Embracing our cultural roots is essential for fostering respect and understanding.

To celebrate this, I encourage diplomatic discussions and cultural exchange events — opportunities to explore and appreciate our differences. If we allow our diverse beliefs to control us, we create divisions. But if we use our differences to engage with others, we all benefit.

I value respect for other cultures and blend easily into diverse environments. I constantly seek knowledge about other people’s traditions and customs, finding it deeply enriching. I enjoy discussing the similarities my race shares with others, as it opens up opportunities for greater understanding and mutual respect.

Throughout Black history, there have been countless individuals who embodied the strength of difference. Figures like Diane Abbott, the first Black woman elected to Parliament, who broke barriers in British politics and Stormzy, who uses his music to champion social justice. Malorie Blackman has given a powerful voice to Black narratives in children’s literature and John Boyega fearlessly speaks out against inequality. Through her activism, Baroness Doreen Lawrence has brought about much-needed change in race relations in Britain.

These individuals embraced their heritage and used their differences as tools for progress. As we celebrate Black History Month, we should reflect on their contributions and take inspiration from them to foster unity and understanding through our own differences.

© Rachel Umoh, 2024

Connect with Rachel on Facebook: Rachel Moyinoluwa Umoh, X: @UmohRachel, Instagram: @umoh_rachel and via her website: www.rayshaven.org

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The second piece, Duality, a thoughtful poem by Kei Evermoore, explores the balance of male and female energies in a spiritual and philosophical way and whether balance and unity appear when dualities are merged. I enjoyed the fluid and organic style, which allowed for a calming and reflective read.

Duality

In the depths of one’s soul
Masculine and feminine
Merge into nothing
Strength and softness blend
Creating a balanced whole
Shadows disappear
The warrior within
Meets the nurturing spirit
Yin and yang unite
A fierce determination
Coupled with compassion
Creates harmony
The masculine force
Tamed by the feminine grace
Becomes infinite
No longer confined
By societal constructs
Freedom is found
The rigid walls break
Softness seeps through every crack
Embracing the void
In nothingness lies
The true essence of being
Genderless and pure
No longer defined
By external expectations
Only truth remains
The duality fades
Leaving behind only love
And a sense of peace
In the silence, we find
The unity of opposites
Balanced and serene
Masculine and feminine
Merge into oneness
A reflection of the soul
In nothingness, we see
The beauty of wholeness
And the power within.

© Kei Evermoore, 2024

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The third piece of deeply touching prose, I’m Still One Of You, by Tavinder Kaur sees a woman reflecting on her past, present and future without a child and how the journey of this desire has beaten her down at times. The exclusion or inability to participate or offer opinion in certain conversations on this subject must be painful. It also serves as a reminder there are many reasons people might not have children and encourages readers to tread compassionately and kindly.

I’m Still One Of You

Just because I can’t create, make or bake the bun in my oven, it doesn’t mean I’m not
one of you,
I hold and share tears of what could have been, how old they would have been, and
what might have been?
But you still ask me, impose, enquire why?
Didn’t you want to have a child?
Why couldn’t you have a child?
What are your next steps?
What I feel is the grief I want to say, what I exist is in grief I want to say, the pains of the
past trials, failures, IVF, miscarriages, separation, and divorce.
What I feel is the grief I want to say, what I exist in is the grief I want to say, of the reality
that the lineage dies with me, and there will be no one left to look after me when I am
old.
But amongst all of this, I am invisible, left in the middle of conversations around labor,
children, how difficult life is, and giving birth but what contribution can I give to this?
Life must be easy for you. Easy?! I wouldn’t want this easy, breezy lemon squeezy as
you see it on anyone,
I have been battered, bruised, and busted by the desire to have a child. I had to move
on from it. I had simply no choice.
Just because I can’t create, make or bake the bun in my oven, it doesn’t mean I’m not
one of you,
I wanted one, I tried to do it several times, spent money, and traveled far and wide but
life didn’t turn out that way for me.
So don’t probe, don’t ask, be kind, or don’t define me because I didn’t have a child.

I am still a woman. I’m still one of you.

© Tavinder Kaur, 2024

Connect on X: @newtavinder

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The final piece(s) come from the currently unpublished novel, The Home For Lost Souls, which is setting the tone nicely for next week’s Showcase. Jo Scott has been writing stories ever since her childhood in the south-west of England, and storytelling is at the heart of her work as a heritage consultant in Northumberland. This year, she has been longlisted for the Yeovil Literary Prize (awaiting further news!) and shortlisted by Cranked Anvil.

Set in Cornwall, the novel was inspired by one of the greatest changes in life: the experience of looking after beloved relatives at the end of their lives and trying, afterwards, to find a way forward without them.

Evie Black is a middle-aged Cornishwoman, whose adamantly pragmatic beliefs are turned upside down when, in a quirky local nursing home, she thinks she sees her dying mother’s spirit leaving her body. The home, Evie soon discovers, is full of lost and lonely souls. It’s a place where desperate relatives and long-suffering carers cling to superstition and tradition to deal with the awful realities of ageing and end of life. Despite this, it’s a story full of warmth, hope and the possibility of love, and the remarkable power of unlikely friendships to carry us through and beyond these difficult times.

The Home For Lost Souls Excerpt 1

Evie Black opened the window as soon as she realised that her mother had taken her final breath. Someone once told her that it was important to let the spirit of the newly departed go free, and it had piqued something unusually superstitious within her.

Evie wasn’t sure exactly how she knew that Pearl was gone, but she was not in any doubt. Already, in the pale light of the encroaching dawn, her mother looked… Evie searched for the right word.

Empty.

She sat back in the uncomfortable chair, unable to feel anything but her own blood leeching from her face and her limbs becoming leaden. And she watched over her mother.

A few moments later, to Evie’s astonishment, she saw Pearl’s spirit leave.

It was no more than a wraith, slipping silently out of the window and into the sweetness of the Cornish spring morning, rippling like a flicker of heat haze above a hot radiator.

Evie squinted after the departing form. Pearl’s spirit – if indeed that’s what it was – hovered for a moment in the cool air and then slid back into the room. She watched it quiver across the carpet and then shimmy under the door and out into the corridor.

“Oh, Mum,” Evie said, rubbing her eyes in disbelief. “Where are you off to now?”

© Jo Scott, 2024

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While The Home For Lost Souls tackles big issues, from serious illness and financial hardship to grief and loss, we also see Evie searching for her own roots and eventually reconciling herself to a new origin story, while dealing with a possible ghost at the nursing home, a savant cat, a hipster postman, a navy-blue-haired matron with a sunburst of wrinkles and a trail of passionately cryptic postcards.

The strands of humour and cosy mystery woven into the story’s threads lift the tension and shine a tender light on families, friendships and the absurdity of life and death. The book has been described by author Kim Lewis as ‘warm, wise and funny.’

The Home For Lost Souls Excerpt 2

It is not a formal policy of the nursing home, but Matron is a firm believer in the healing power of domesticated animals. Dogs are welcome in the guests’ rooms at any time during visiting hours. Cats are tolerated for short periods, providing they don’t wander and that litter trays are promptly both set up and removed. Evie also knows that a blind eye was turned to Harry Nankivell’s favourite chicken, who would sit in his wife’s shopping basket on the windowsill for hours at a stretch, gazing adoringly at him.

No-one was enthusiastic about the snake that the vicar’s grandson brought in last summer though, including Harry Nankivell’s favourite chicken. After one sideways look at the serpent writhing in the boy’s arms, the chicken discovered that she could fly after all.

Evie also knows that it had taken Mrs Nankivell several hours to coax Bertha down from the monkey puzzle tree outside her husband’s window.

© Jo Scott, 2024

Connect with Jo on X: @JoScottHeritage

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If you’d like to see your writing appear in the Write On! Showcase, please submit your short stories, poetry or novel extracts to: pentoprint.org/get-involved/submit-to-write-on/

Hear extracts from Showcase in our podcast. 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 for Pocasters.

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