Stromness students publish collection of creative writing

By Garrett Stell

June 17 2022, 11:45 am

We caught up with some of the young authors to learn about their writing process

A group of creative writers at Stromness Academy have published a collection of works to add to the island’s long literary legacy.

Their works of poetry and prose touched on a range of topics, from the changing of the seasons in Orkney to the simple life of pigs.

‘We Are Writers’ collected works from the entire first-year cohort at Stromness Academy and showcased the writers’ wide-ranging talents.

They hosted parents for a launch event last week at their school.

And this week, we caught up with some of the young authors to learn about their writing process. They told us what they enjoyed most about the writing process and shared a few tips of the trade for the next generation of Stromness writers.

Stromness Academy students recently published a collection of creative writing. Illustration by Ali, supplied by Adam Nagy

A team effort from the start

At their Stromness launch event, the S1 cohort greeted visitors with an overview of their project and the hard work involved.

“The whole of the S1 year has come together to make this happen,” the authors said in a joint release. “When you open the book, you get thrown to places far out of your imagination.

At a launch event at the school, the Stromness Academy writers gave visitors a chance to order a copy of their collection. Supplied by Adam Nagy

“We have many different and unique pieces of writing within varied types of genres, from poetry through drama to murder mystery.

“Everyone has cooperated and worked together to write this book and we are really proud of all the effort put into it and all the S1s for doing their best.

“We hope that whoever bought our book will be happy with the quality and enjoys reading the various pieces of writing.”

Stromness Academy writers: Meet the authors

Some of the young authors swimming in the legacy of George Mackay Brown opened a window into their creative process. Here’s what they had to tell us, along with their published titles.

Sean, S2: ‘Autumn Haiku’, ‘Instrument Acrostic’ and ‘Orkney Acrostic’

Sean found himself called to poetry, perhaps due in part to his musical talents. He also had some advice for future writers to choose topics special to them.

“I enjoyed writing poems instead of imaginative writing or stories. At the launch event, I played the music for entertainment.

“I would give the new S1s advice such as ‘Write about something you are passionate about or something you know a lot about’.”

Joe: ‘Dead Goose (Tanka)’

Joe appreciated the freedom of expression and being able to have a say in not only the writing process but the book design.

“I felt ownership of the writing process because they let me put my poems in the book and they even read my poem to all the parents.”

Craig: ‘Pig Haiku’

Craig enjoyed the creative challenge of turning pigs into a poem.

Craig’s style of choice, the Haiku, is much like the subject: short and smart.

“I wrote a poem about pigs and what they do. My favourite part was thinking up ideas for what I could write about.

“And in the end, it was quite fun.”

Daisy, S2

Daisy contributed three poems to the collection but preferred to keep her titles to herself. She did, however, treat guests at the launch event to a special reading of one of her poems.

“The part of the writing I enjoyed was creating the poems. It was fun expressing my creativity.”

Some of the Stromness Academy writers shared samples of their work with visitors at the book launch. Supplied by Adam Nagy

Magnus, S2: ‘Happy Food’, ‘Hummingbird’, ‘Sleep’, ‘Sunny Mills’ and ‘Thunder’

Magnus helped out at the book launch by taking orders, in addition to the five poems he contributed to the collection.

“I really enjoyed making the book and I thought it was a great project. Some advice I would give to the next S1s would be to think about what you are writing and really work on it.”

Josie, S2: ‘Summer Haiku’, ‘Spring Haiku’ and ‘Storm Haiku’

Josie’s poetic contributions are all about the shifting seasons. The strict rules of the Haiku proved a puzzle, but it was well worth it in the end.

“I enjoyed thinking about ideas for the ‘Summer Haiku’ because I found it more challenging than I thought.”

Ellouise, S2: ‘Summer’

Much like Josie, Ellouise was inspired by the seasons and chose to focus on the brightest of them all.

“I enjoyed using rhyming words and watching the poem come together really well! I wish I had written more poems or stories but I’m still proud of myself for writing one.

“If I could give future S1s any advice, I would tell them to try to write as much as possible.”