On March 10th I attended an event for the Norwich Showcase, which is an international
showcase of the best literature in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Writer’s Centre Norwich
and the British Council. Today’s event was held in the University of East Anglia Drama Studio and
was a discussion and reading of the works of three female authors: Samantha
Harvey, Anjali Joseph, and Evie Wyld. It was free for students. I believe
outside parties had to pay a small fee if they wanted to attend.
When
I first walked into the Drama Studio, I saw two large signs with the names of
the Writer’s Centre Norwich and the British Council on them. Right nearby was
a stand set up with pamphlets advertising upcoming events in the arts, such as
a production of Spring Awakening and
the University of East Anglia Literary Festival, with two Writer’s Centre
workers standing just to the left. Also on the stand was a Writer’s Center bag
filled with more materials supporting the arts. There was also a book inside
all about the Showcase and its events as well as information about Norwich as a
literary city and why the Writer’s Centre believes it is so. After skimming through the book, I
noticed that it was written for a select audience. It kept saying the word “you” and had a list
of a schedule of events, many of which were not listed online to the public. It
also mentioned accommodation provided, so I believe this book was meant to be
for the international people that were attending the events. At the end of the
book it had a list of delegates with images, many of which whom I saw in the
audience of the event. The room to my right was filled with people and, after
listening in on a conversation, I found that the people in the room were
visitors from abroad who came for all of the Showcase events. Based on skimming
through the book in the Norwich bag, I assume these people were selected to
attend the Showcase. They are from different countries, including Ireland,
Palestine, and England. At exactly eleven, we were allowed to enter the room
where the event was being held. The room set-up reminded me of a talk show:
there was a panel of four women, one host and three authors, sitting behind a
table with books on the table. The host was the oldest of the four, looking in
her sixties, while the other three looked to be around middle age. Three women
were white, and one author, Anjali Joseph, was Indian and studied at UEA. All
three authors had won awards for their novels and two were flown in from Turkey
and one was from Bath, though all were British.
The
audience was filled with a variety of people, unlike the event for
International Women’s Day. There was about an even split of men and women. Everyone, aside from myself, looked to
be middle aged and in the middle class, dressed in business casual attire. I believe I was the only student,
despite the fact this event was free for students. This audience was much more
diverse than the other one, filled with Caucasians, African-Americans, and
Indians, among others. The room was about four-fifths filled, and I believe the
great majority of this audience were the visitors from abroad. Before the event
began, the host addressed the audience as literary experts so I assume all of
the people from abroad were asked to attend the Showcase based on their
experience and skill with literature. Throughout most of the event, the
audience seemed to be engaged and interested in the discussion of the novels.
However, very little attention was given when the three authors read excerpts
from their novels. I noticed people reading, using their laptops, or even
sleeping during the readings, which greatly surprised me. Even the host looked
like she was about to fall asleep at some points. The most attention was paid
when the authors and host were discussing the more mechanical aspects of their
work, like how they wrote their stories and why they wrote them as they did.
This made it seem to me that the audience was mainly there to pick up tips on
writing instead of to learn more about the actual work of the authors. Despite
the fact the audience seemed to all be professionals and therefore may not
necessarily need to pick up tips, there is always room for improvement and
suggestion with writing. This notion was affirmed for me during the two periods
in this event where the audience was permitted to ask questions. The only
questions asked were about writing style and technique, aside from questions
about how they take criticism asked by a critic and what they expect to get out
of participating, which was asked by a woman who is running the Manchester
Showcase. Again, this supported my observations that everyone there was
attending for their own personal agenda as opposed to celebrating the work of
the three authors. The most
attention was paid to the Indian author. I am not sure if this is because she
is Indian, and therefore “different” from the other two authors, or if her novel was the most
interesting. She was the least boring to listen to. She seemed down to Earth
and had a sense of humor when she spoke, whereas the other two authors were
very straightforward and bland.
This
event was considerably more formal than the International Women’s Day event. Before
the event started, an introduction was given describing the event, the authors
and their works. I am not sure why these authors were selection other than the
fact that all of their work had received awards, therefore indicating they are
clearly successful and good at what they do. The event was being filmed. It was
very quiet in the room. The panel of women were equipped with small
microphones, so it was easy to hear what they were saying. Some people did come
late to the event, but because of its formal nature, these people were noticed
by the entire audience and were disruptive and distracting to the event. At the
end of the event, a man spoke and said that there would be lunch served and the
audience would have a chance to speak with the three authors during that time.
However, after leaving, I noticed there were two Writer’s Centre
workers standing outside of the door where lunch was being served, guarding it
almost. This made it seem to me that the comments made by the man were directed
only towards the abroad literary specialists, not the audience as a whole. This,
along with the reading of the book I picked up on the Norwich Showcase, makes
it seem that the events in the Showcase are made more for these literature
specialists and professionals instead of a general audience. Also, I believe
the people running the Showcase assume that the attendees, specifically the
visitors from abroad, will be attending every single event as a poetry reading
from the night before was mentioned. Based on the fact that there was a
schedule in the book I picked up, I believe this is true. Unlike the
International Women’s Day event, I felt as though this event for the Norwich Showcase
was supposed to be more for the elite people in literature.
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