Nicole Moore, co-founder of Words of Colour, explains why she is stepping down as Creative Arts Director and outlines her future creative plans.
Estelle has not only taken the charts by storm with her single American Boy, but has impressed Joy Francis with her funky new album ‘Shine’.
Time Out feature writer and reviewer Tamara Gausi offers some pointers to budding critics including how to cope with adverse reactions to your reviews.
The loss of one of her twin boys inspired holistic complementary therapist, artist and writer Hyacinth Myers to offer other parents a creative outlet. She highlights why.
Read the second and final part in our series - a week in the life of a budding writer - with our short story competition winners. This time it’s runner up Mahsuda Shah.
The Forum page is the place to promote your events and take part in debates on topics that can be serious or whimsical. This month, for the first time, we are repeating a topic from last month on self help books. We know that you buy these books in bucket loads so we expect more responses...
November/December 2007
TOPIC
Without a doubt self help books are bestsellers. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne is in the Amazon top 20, and Iyanla Vanzant is still seen as the goddess of self help for people of colour. Are these books helpful or do you think that the fact they sell so well means we are in denial or incapable of helping ourselves?
Responses
By Rita, London
Even the most self-aware women need inspiration, guidance and support to prompt them to reflect on issues that are important and sometimes scary, and especially to be reminded of the best version (and vision) of themselves.
The success of The Secret, was excellent marketing. It repackaged age old wisdom and made such wisdom accessible. People who would shy away from such self help picked up The Secret, or watched the video. Those of us who have worked on ourselves for years must have recognised the familiar philosophy, and those of us who are spiritual or even religious recognised the drawing on the Bible and other spiritual text like Bhagavad-Gita Vita or the Course in Miracles. Self help books appeal to the mass market continually, not because we are incapable or even in denial, but because we are all searching for answers. The hunger to know oneself self is innate, can be fraught and yet necessary. For me self help books are sign postings along the journey, at times. They are all we have in a deafening silent night or chaos. Sometimes there are no words to explain the depths of how we feel yet Iyanla Vanzant helps us to retouch that part that needs expression or even soothing.
Maxine Quintyne-Kolaru shares her joy at being selected for a rehearsed reading at the Royal Court for her play Shredder.
Loraine Martins of the Olympic Delivery Authority shares her experience of having dinner with living icon Angela Davis.
Andrea Enisuoh, Centerprise Literature Development Co-ordinator, explains what the recent funding cuts by the Arts Council England means for her project.
Have you made a New Year Resolution to take your writing further or get your poems or novel published? Let us know your writing dreams for 2008.
