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I first started writing poetry in the early 90s whilst studying at Dundee University.
I had originally been accepted to study for an MA in Politics and Social Policy
but by 2nd year, was so inspired by the English Literature course, I pursued the
English Honours route.
At Dundee, I got the chance to see Liz Lochhead for the first time and Tag
Theatre's production of A Clockwork Orange which still rates as one
of my most awesome experiences! Other works that influenced me were Kafka's
Metamorphosis, Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and, in particular,
American writers Tom Wolfe, Kurt Vonnegut and John Updike.
My rather bizarre poetry met with very mixed approval by publishers, so it took
me until 2001 to take the scary step of joining a poetry group. The feedback I received
from members at Spring Tides
in Aberdeen is probably the main reason I am still writing today. This is also where
I met Haworth Hodgkinson and so began my involvement with Lemon Tree Writers.
Not only have I received constructive feedback on my writing, but the Lemon Tree
group has enabled me to link up with a vibrant community of writers who are proactively
ensuring that Aberdeen plays a major part in the literature circuit. It is an invaluable
source of information for new writers and gives them a platform for performing their
writing. I am now a regular performer in Aberdeen and have also read at festivals
in Pennan and Shetland.
In 2004, I attended an Arvon
Playwriting course led by Liz Lochhead and Alan Plater. This will
go down as one of the most inspirational weeks of my life. Alan Plater told me to
finish my play—needless to say I'm now the biggest hero worshipper that ever
lived! This experience gave me a lot of confidence to pursue my writing and to tell
myself that hearing voices is not just crazy! In 2005, I was lucky enough to have
the same play, Kitten Heels produced as a rehearsed reading at Aberdeen Arts
Centre alongside Gráinne Smith's Vibrations. Gráinne
has been a constant source of advice and inspiration and continues to bowl me over
with her amazing enthusiasm.
I am currently aiming to develop my fiction writing by studying Storylines,
a creative writing course in the Open
College of the Arts programme which has allowed me to explore narrative
techniques, and to develop characterisation. The one-to-one feedback I have received
has been immensely useful and I continue to learn all the time.
Together with Knotbrook Taylor and Haworth Hodgkinson, I find the
idea of experimenting with music, visual imagery and poetry very exciting and see
the Blue Salt Collective as a vehicle for
dabbling in a number of creative forms.
Photo of Catriona Yule by Sally McIntosh
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