Getting amongst it!

Another week at the Lit and Phil has gone by and I sense a buzz in the air. I had a working lunch with Kay ( thanks for that Kay) where we discussed the selcetion for the forthcoming National Poetry Day event. It was a difficult decison as we had so many submissions of a high standard. It was time that swayed out hands in the end as we wanted to get home before midnight on NPD. Its exciting as the majority of people who will be reading are unknown to us, new kids on the block. This might even be their first reading event. So I'm pleased that not only am I fulfiling my brief with research into the past to unearth hidden voice, but I am also bringing unknown voices to the forefront in the present. It feels good. So NPD is Thursday 5 October, 7.30 onwards. Come along, you'll be more than welcome.

While talking to my husband about the event, he asked if I had taken the time to step back and really think about what I am doing in the Lit and Phil. I took offence at first, reading this question as if I'm wasting my time at the Lit and Phil or rushing into things without really thinking about what I'm doing. But, (and no arguement took place, I may add. He got his explantion in quickly!), what he was really saying was that here I am a Black female researching slavery in the 21st century within a Victorain institution founded by white men. I sit in the cosy women's powder room in the Lit and Phil four hundred years after the events have taken place as a Black female who has links with both the exporters of human trafiic, Ghana, and links with the receivers of human cargo, Trinidad. And I should not forget this and I should keep these thoughts present as I bear witness to these happenings.