By Paulina Zurakowska
When I signed up to the ‘Our Economy and Creative Writing Workshop’, I admit, I was stepping out of my comfort zone. Though I had been with the Arkbound Foundation as a volunteer for about a year when I signed up, I seldom showcased my writing – and I had very little interest in the theory of economics.
This workshop changed both – and for the better.
The ‘Our Economy and Creative Writing workshop’ began in the summer of 2024, running from the 6th of July to the 24th of August at Greater Govanhill’s Community Newsroom, spanning 8 sessions, involving 10 participants from a variety of backgrounds and experiences.
Supported by a team of talented and insightful facilitators, including Arkbound’s very own authors, and Romy herself, the workshop’s goals were to present a series of mini-workshops where both creative writing skill-honing and explorations of alternative economics would amount to an anthology called ‘Our Economy’ would feature the participants’ own voices on the economic affairs of the world, and more creative pieces concerning social issues resulting from economic factors.
Personally the task was momentous to myself; I had never strayed from writing ‘comfortable’ pieces which stuck to fantastical settings or which were more abstract. Considering my own background, the truth this anthology demanded, and the topics discussed in these workshops, I knew that my own voice had to come through – and perhaps a little of my own experience.
The workshops worked fantastically to help accomplish this amongst myself and the other participants.
Across the 8 weeks, both creative writing and economics were addressed equally.
Our first workshop was kicked off by Shane Johnstone; a Glaswegian poet, translator and novelist, whose books, ‘The Gods of Frequency’ and ‘Govanhill Mythology’ have been published by Arkbound. The workshop was called ‘Writing Social Class (without writing misery memoir). It was a great taster of what was to come, in which we discussed intersectionality, varying ideas of Capital and literature spanning various countries and times such as France and America. Importantly it also served as a vital warning; that writing about the difficulties of ‘lower’ social classes did not necessarily equate to misery, and there were other perspectives that begged to be explored; something many writers miss. Shane’s passion was inspiring and motivated me to become more involved in reading about economic problems in fiction. Additionally he was a great asset to the participants, providing feedback on our work.
Diana Finch, (not an economist!), whose vast experience spanned from charity work to financial management (and who also happens to be the author of ‘Value Beyond Money’ published by Arkbound in 2024) was our facilitator for the 2nd and 7th workshops ‘The Bristol Pound Campaign’ and ‘Post-Market Ideas’. The workshops were particularly fascinating thanks to Diana’s account of ‘The Bristol Pound’, a wonderous initiative that was one of its kind and which had put ‘local’ currency on the map. Her reflection as past Managing Director on this alternative economy and its highs and lows were incredibly insightful into what could be changed in our economy, and how the future could look differently via a structured brainstorm of post-market economy ideas.
Our third workshop, ‘The Writing, Editing and Publishing Processes’ was led by Michele Smith, writer and the Chief Executive of Jasami Publishing & Productions CIC, which focuses on shining a light on new authors. Michele gave a detailed picture of the publishing world, tailored to writers who were seeking an ‘in’ into becoming published authors, and even offered her own expert eye and feedback to the participants’ works.
Ruth Hannan and Hannah Webster, the co-founders of CareFull joined us virtually for the fourth workshop which concerned ‘Care-centered Economies’. Following their combined extensive involvement in research and policy for think tanks and charities, and respective carers themselves, Ruth and Hannah underlined how the most vulnerable in our societies are consistently and constantly ostracised and undervalued – and what could be done to change the economy, so that it can strengthen, not punish, those who are vulnerable in society and those who look after them.
John McGlade, Glaswegian scriptwriter, novelist and speechwriter amongst other disciplines, credited in multiple television and radio shows, author of ‘Invisible Schemes’ (Arkbound, 2022) offered his talent and expertise up to the participants by leading week 5 and offering us his feedback on our upcoming pieces. John led us through a workshop specifically catering to Writing Character, in which participants took part in multiple activities and were introduced to multiple tools to help build and develop upon their own characters. An insightful session which made me micro-analyse my own characters, finding that I didn’t know them as well as I should!
UCL’s Professor Steven Keen, a Distinguished Research Fellow led his workshop ‘How Money is Created and How Government Spending is Financed’. One of the few who anticipated the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, Professor Keen’s insights and explanations into how our own government functions was a valuable eye-opener and would prove a helpful tool in discussing such topics in writing.
Our final workshop was led by Rodge Glass, an award-winning author and senior lecturer in Creative Writing at Strathclyde University. Rodge’s workshop on ‘Writing Real Lives’ was an introspective and considerate session, discussing the topic of consent and permission of those who we write about and how we as writers paint perspectives. It reminded me of the power that a pen has, and the responsibility of the one who holds it.
The above workshops have been instrumental in my development as a writer; I have become increasingly involved in the writer community of Glasgow joining a writer’s group, have felt emboldened to use my own voice and my own writing to address difficult subjects, and have learnt a lot about a topic that I claimed I didn’t have an interest in. The truth is of course I did because I had always cared about its consequences. The sessions taught me that for things to change I could not ignore the problem, I had to learn and read and write about it to change it.
