The creativity of Hull’s writing community is being celebrated with four new writing commissions for the Humber Mouth literature festival.
And, the new stories and poems written for radio will be broadcast through a special partnership with BBC Radio Humberside.
Created by Hull City Council in 1992, the Humber Mouth literature festival celebrates the city’s creative talent and culture. In a break from the usual festival format, during 2020 and 2021 Humber Mouth has developed a series of special projects.
Highlights of this latest event include Sidelines, a new piece of writing about Hull’s sporting icon Clive Sullivan, written by Rosayln Sullivan and Dave Windass, which combines memories, real-life events and fiction to share an inside take on an important chapter in sporting history, from the unique perspective of someone who knew him best. There are also more stories of love, of life in lockdown, and of a future Hull that’s underwater.
Catherine Sadler, Hull City Council Arts Development Officer and Director of Humber Mouth, said: “Hull has always been an outstanding city for writers and these new commissions from Humber Mouth with BBC Radio Humberside will help to share voices and stories from our city, and introduce some of our most distinctive writing talent to new audiences around the region.”
BBC Radio Humberside producer and presenter Phil White said: “It’s always good to be able to reflect the amazing creative talent that we have here in East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire and this collaboration with Humber Mouth has resulted in a diverse range of work, from a collection of exciting writers.
“BBC Radio Humberside is delighted to be able to promote these authors and showcase their work to our audience.”
BBC Radio Humberside is broadcasting the pieces and interviews with the writers between 19-25 April:
Working from Home, Jodie Russian-Red
Monday 19 April
Evenings on BBC Radio Humberside ‘No Filter’
A contemporary and powerful story around the shift to remote work, told from a bedroom and email inbox during the pandemic. The piece is a meditation on isolation and the concept of belonging and the very of idea of ‘home’.
Sidelines, Rosalyn Sullivan & Dave Windass
Wednesday 21 April
Mid-morning on BBC Radio Humberside with Burnsy
A unique short story that steps away from the thudding muddy action of Rugby League and glittering career of Clive Sullivan and instead tells the story of a woman’s sacrifice for a man’s dream. Much more than a sporting life, the piece is about togetherness, true love and learning what’s really important.
Tales from the Underwater City, Cassandra Parkin
Thursday 22 April
Evenings on BBC Radio Humberside
A dream-like series of poems imagining a future Hull that has been returned to water and inhabited by a strange second-skin creature. The writing is inspired by a quote in The Deep and covers important themes for these challenging times, such as evolution, adaptation, redemption and redemption, and exploring our hidden creative impulses.
The Seven Stages of Love, Matt Nicholson
Sunday 25 April
Afternoons on BBC Radio Humberside with Lucy Clark
A series of seven short poems inspired by ‘The Seven Ages of Man’ from Shakespeare’s As You Like It. The writing is based on Matt’s experiences and observations, looking at what love means and what part it plays in the lives of those in seven different life stages.
After the broadcast, the recordings and text will be available on both BBC Sounds and the Humber Mouth website.
Find out more information about the Humber Mouth literary festival here.
