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BBC News
30 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
'I never saw writing as a viable career', says Wales' national poet
Hanan Issa has just surpassed the halfway milestone in her five-year stint as National Poet for up, she said she never saw writing as a viable career: "I'm working class, raised in a council house and to me, it wasn't considered an option."But as the 11-day Hay Festival draws to a close on Sunday, she has praised organisers for providing a space for people from marginalised backgrounds in what she said had traditionally been a "very white, middle class space".Hay Festival Global describes itself as "the antidote to polarisation", bringing together "diverse voices to listen, talk, debate and create", tackling some of the "biggest political, social and environmental challenges of our time". After graduating from Cardiff University, where she studied English literature, Hanan felt teaching was her only plausible career but knew it was not for her, having already had some experience in the field."I was the first in my family to go to university and so I felt this pressure to have what's considered 'a proper job'," the 39-year-old went on to work in the voluntary sector, expecting a life-long career in social was until 2016 when then-prime minister David Cameron said some Muslim women were not integrating into British society and were not learning English. "[He] spoke so ignorantly... I was like 'umm, hello! We're here you know'," Hanan was the catalyst that turned Hanan's writing from personal to public, writing a spoken word piece that she posted online. Since then, poetry - which she did only for herself or as a gift for loved ones' birthdays and weddings - has become something she has shared publicly to connect with others. Hanan's first time at Hay Festival in the Powys town of Hay-on-Wye was seven years ago as a selected writer joining the Writers at Work programme, which aims to support emerging Welsh talent. She described the 10 days of workshops and events as an "eye-opener", helping to demystify the process of getting published and filling her with confidence as a writer too."If it had just been a one-off, I would say that was a tokenistic opportunity. But it hasn't been. I've been asked back time and time again... as a performer onstage," she said. Some of Hanan's highlights of the festival this year included seeing Pulitzer Prize-winning data journalist Mona Chalabi in conversation, as well as Kehinde Andrews, the UK's first professor of black her visit this year, the poet said she noticed "way more hijabis"."In a very sort of shallow aesthetic way, for me it's a natural thing to walk into a space and look around to see what the demographic is," she said. "It's not very often that I look around and see hijabis in literary spaces, put it that way, and it's been lovely."She said children were genuinely excited about writing a poem during one of her on-site events."If kids are still excited about books, then there's hope," she said."There's hope for that curiosity that we need to drive forward any kinds of progress and kindness in this world." For Jade Bradford, from Hertfordshire, it was a life-long dream to attend Hay a communications and engagement manager for a social housing provider in south Wales, writing is Jade's second growing up seeing the Guardian's Hay Festival supplement every year when her dad would buy the paper, this year she was in attendance as a Writer at Work."Publishing, it can feel like a closed door sometimes and it's hard to know who you need to speak to, what it is you actually need, how you get an agent," the 39-year-old said. She said if audiences at events like Hay Festival were not representative they may not know their books are not diverse enough, or "that they need to hear other voices".Jade added the festival's efforts in engaging with TikTokers bringing in a younger audience and providing a space for all voices was "really making the difference"."I'm seeing younger people, more ethnically diverse people, a lot of really good queer representation happening... and that's really, really important," she said. "We're seeing a more modern Wales perhaps being represented whilst not losing that classic literary approach."We have a really rich national history of literature and there's nothing wrong with being middle-class, there's nothing wrong with really literary writing like classic books."There's just a place for all of our different types of writing. That's the most important thing." A highlight of Jade's week at Hay was going to see curator, writer and broadcaster Ekow Eshun "on a panel of black voices talking about black history", while another standout was attending a talk with the writer of the film Mr said if someone were to tell her childhood self that she could go somewhere and meet writers, breathe the same air as Jacqueline Wilson and then in the future become a writer herself, "her head would explode". This year was also Rhys Thomas' first time at Hay had a "full circle" moment watching poet John Cooper Clarke take to the stage, after first seeing him while working at his local festival aged 16. "I just didn't realise that poetry and literature could have that raw edge to it," he said."He was funny, he was swearing. He's a rock and roll star who uses poems instead of guitar solos."Rhys, a journalist from Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, said it was not until he moved to England for university that he started immersing himself in books and 28-year-old described the literary world as "very elite", and said it could "feel alienating and inaccessible"."I didn't have any books in the house growing up. So I was both sort of economically and culturally not really someone you'd associate with the art world," he said. "Over time it has given me a lot of self doubt and confidence issues, especially around like, can I function in the world as a writer? But also in a bigger existential way of, this is a clash against the person I'm supposed to be." Rhys has been writing for a year and a half, and before applying for the competitive Writer at Work programme said he "didn't believe in himself".He said the scheme was "pretty full-on", with eight hours of activities a day helping to develop writing skills and tailored to all 10 emerging writers on the who has already filled his 125-page A6 notepad up during the scheme, said he was one of the lucky ones getting to "spend 10 days or so really feeling like we can be in this world, without it breaking our bank accounts"."Even at a practical level, it's given me hope for when I'm scribbling away at the dead of night, it's not a pointless endeavour," he added. Hanan said she has now reached a point in her life "when you feel a space is not inclusive or open to you, you be the one to open that door and wedge a doorstop underneath"."If you can, then do it because you opening that door, wedging in that door stop, means that other people can walk through after you," she added.
Telegraph
a day ago
- General
- Telegraph
‘Despite the headlines, 'mischeevious' is not considered standard English'
'Mischievous'. It's a word that has come to define my week in quite unexpected ways, ever since I happened to answer a question from an audience member at the wonderful Hay Festival about changes to English that I find annoying. I explained that one bugbear I have recently overcome was the increasing use of the pronunciation 'mischeevious', since I have come to see the rationale for the change and to acknowledge its place in a long history of sound shifts that, for a lexicographer at least, are interesting to observe. The result was a right linguistic foofaraw, thanks to many a mischievous headline claiming I now consider 'mischeevious' to be entirely acceptable. I'm hoping I can set the record a little straighter now. The first thing to say is that a lexicographer's job is to chart the trajectory of words as they evolve. We are describers, not prescribers, of language, despite the understandable desire of many for some form of linguistic government. English has no equivalent to L'Académie française, a body that attempts to preside over the French language. English has always been an entirely democratic affair, subject to the will of the people, and it is inevitable that some of the changes it undergoes will prove irksome along the way. The fact that many of us are messing with the sound of 'mischievous' is clearly one. Despite the headlines, it is most definitely not considered standard English: in fact Oxford's dictionary of contemporary English offers unusually firm guidelines as to its usage: 'Mischievous is a three-syllable word. It should not be pronounced with four syllables with the stress on the second syllable, as if it were spelled mischievious'. Why, then, are we changing it? Is there any method to our madness? The answer involves a process that has informed linguistic evolution for centuries. In the case of 'mischievous', which comes from the Old French meschever, 'to come to an unfortunate end', the '-ievous' ending of the adjective is coming under the influence of such words as 'devious'. In the same way, it is becoming rare these days to hear reports of 'grievous bodily harm': I have heard 'grievious bodily harm' at least three times on news reports just this weekend. This is far from the only example of changing pronunciation, as readers will know all too well. 'Pacifically' and 'nucular' are two other repeat offenders. In the case of the former, 'pacifically' (already in the dictionary meaning 'peacefully'; the Pacific Ocean is the 'Peaceful Ocean') is judged by some to be easier to say, while the shift to 'nucular' brings it closer to such words as 'molecular' and 'secular' – there are fewer common words in current English ending with '-lear', with the exception perhaps of 'cochlear'. In each of these cases, familiarity seems to the catalyst. Similarly, it seems most people feel on 'tenderhooks' these days, rather than 'tenterhooks'. The latter were once a common feature in cloth-manufacturing districts, for they were wooden frames erected in rows in the open air on 'tenter-fields'. Wet cloth would be hooked onto them to be stretched after milling, allowing it dry evenly without shrinkage. Metaphorically, to be on tenterhooks is to be as taut, tense, and in suspense as the wool itself. Today, tenters are no longer a feature of our countryside, resulting in 'tenderhooks' being chosen for the job instead. I of course regret the loss of the story behind such words, but the joy of etymology is digging beneath the surface to discover these treasures of the past. Lest you feel your blood pressure rising already, there is some reassurance in the fact that such shifts are nothing new. If you've ever wondered what a Jerusalem artichoke has to do with Jerusalem, the answer is absolutely nothing: the name arose because English speakers in the 16th century struggled with the Italian word 'girasole', which means 'sunflower' (the Jerusalem artichoke is a heliotrope). It sounded a little like 'Jerusalem', so they plumped for that instead. At the same time, 'asparagus' must have proved equally challenging, for English speakers some 400 years ago decided to call it 'sparrowgrass' instead. The expression a 'forlorn hope' is a mangling of the Dutch 'verloren hoop', or 'lost troop', describing the vanguard of an army that fell in battle. It's hard to deny that there is poetry in our substitution. Slips of the tongue and ear are more common than you might think. Such words as 'umpire', 'apron', 'adder', and 'nickname' are the direct result of mistaken assumptions, for they began respectively as a 'noumpere', a 'napron', and a 'nadder'. In each case the 'n' drifted over to the 'a', since when spoken out loud it was hard to tell which word the letter belonged to. There are dozens more examples. 'Teeny' is an alteration of 'tiny', 'innards' is a take on 'inwards', 'manhandle' is a semi-logical riff on 'mangle', and 'tootsie' represents a child's delivery of 'footsie'. Other words that once wore their hearts on their sleeves have changed their sounds completely: a cupboard was pronounced with 'cup' and 'board' fully intact; only later did we decide it was a 'cubbard'. A 'ward-robe', or 'keeper of robes', is now more usually a 'war-drobe2. And let's not even start with a process known as 'haplology', where a word's syllable is swallowed entirely: who pronounces 'February' with the middle 'r' these days? You're more likely to hear 'probably' as 'probly', too, and a 'library' as a 'libry'. Even our idioms have taken a strange turn over the centuries. Why does 'head over heels' describe being upended by love when this is our regular bodily position? The answer is that the original was 'heels over head', meaning to turn a somersault, but at some point in the phrase's history the idiom was mistakenly (and fittingly) turned upside down. None of these changes mean we should no longer care. The opposite, in fact, for having bugbears means we are passionate about our words and wish to protect their beauty and clarity. What's more, when we mangle them, we run the risk of distracting our audience, and losing our meaning in the process. But it also feels important to know that language – and English in particular – has always been unpredictable and occasionally erratic, changing as its users wish it to, even if that is occasionally by mistake. I'll finish with one request: please don't shoot the messenger. I'm beginning to realise that there is a reason why I am occasionally called a 'minefield' of information.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jon Sopel says Keir Starmer is ‘cringe' for handing Donald Trump letter from King Charles
Former BBC presenter Jon Sopel has hit out at Keir Starmer for his 'cringe' presentation of a letter from King Charles to US president Donald Trump. The Labour leader presented Trump with an invitation from the monarch for a 'historic second state visit' to the UK in February earlier this year. The letter, partially obscured by Trump's hand, read: 'I can only say that it would be … pleasure to extend that invitation once again, in the hope that you … some stage be visiting Turnberry and a detour to a relatively near neighbour might not cause you too much inconvenience. An alternative might perhaps be for you to visit Balmoral." Trump called King Charles a 'beautiful man' in return. Sopel, 66, spoke about the gesture during an appearance at the Hay Festival, which has partnered with The Independent for a second year. 'I think that British diplomacy is very minimal,' he began, in conversation with Anushka Asthana. 'I think British diplomacy can be still quite subtle and clever. Now, was it clever or subtle for Keir Starmer to reach into his pocket and flourish a letter from the King? It was cringe. It was awful.' He continued: 'Downing Street was very happy they got what they wanted, but what did they get that was backable at the end of it? What commitment did they get from Trump at the end of it? But even then if Donald Trump said to you 'I'm going to lend you a hundred pounds but don't worry you don't have to pay me back.' Would you trust him? I'm gona say probably not so much.' It comes shortly after The News Agents host blamed the BBC's 'both sides-ism' for his departure from the network in 2022, after over 40 years with the broadcaster. 'I don't think the media is enabling [Nigel] Farage,' Sopel told panellists on The News Review hosted by The Independent's Helen Coffey, as they discussed the popularity of Reform. 'We have to report the surge in support for Reform. Maybe you could say a few years ago, too much attention was given to him – and indeed, the 'both sides-ism' I found at the BBC was one of the things that drove me out after many, many years.'
Buzz Feed
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Historian Says Posh Accents Ruin Period Dramas
At this year's Hay Festival, Jane Tranter – former executive vice-president of programming and production at the BBC and current producer of Austen adaptation The Other Bennet Sister – said actors 'start speaking posh' when they get a Pride And Prejudice -era script in their hands. 'Not everybody spoke posh in those days, so you have to work with that as well,' she shared (via The Times). Pinched voices, fussy hairdos, and 'weird hats' can risk leading to 'such a fetishised approach that it becomes a barrier between the audience and what is going on,' she adds. So, we spoke to author and historian Katie Kennedy (of viral account @TheHistoryGossip and new SKY History series History Crush) about what we lose when costume drama accents all start to sound the same. It's not an isolated trend Kennedy tells us the tendency isn't limited to period costume dramas. 'It is widely known that the acting industry is dominated by the middle and upper classes,' she says. In 2024, the Sutton Trust found that people from working-class backgrounds were four times less likely than their middle-class peers to work in any creative industry. BAFTA-nominated actors are five times more likely to have gone to private school than the general public. 'While this is an issue in itself,' Kennedy continued, 'it also heavily influences how history gets portrayed on screen. 'We've been sold this idea that everyone in the past was super polished and polite, and we've equated that with the classic RP [received pronunciation] accent.' That's not to say you can't change up voices, actors, stories, or perspectives, especially in looser adaptations like Bridget Jones (expertly nicked from Pride And Prejudice) – but would-be 'faithful' adaptations tend to sound distractingly, and sometimes inaccurately, similar. Take, the historian says, the 2022 film Emily. 'The Brontës are portrayed with soft-spoken middle-class voices, even though they most likely would've had an Irish or at least an Irish/Yorkshire mixed accent as their father was Irish,' she shares. Indeed, Charlotte Brontë's friend Mary Taylor said the author 'spoke with a strong Irish accent,' while the British Film Institute admits star Emma Mackey 's 'Yorkshire accent sporadically wanders down the M1″ in the movie. 'A lot of the time' in period dramas, 'the working-class accent has been attributed to comic relief, or a character who has had a troubled life,' she tells HuffPost UK. 'When everyone in a period drama speaks the same, you're not just losing historical accuracy, you're also reinforcing the idea that the only 'serious' or 'worthy' people in history were the ones who 'spoke properly.''
Spectator
2 days ago
- Politics
- Spectator
Why shouldn't vegans be catered for in an apocalypse?
You know you've arrived when professors start thinking about how to look after you during a major emergency. As a vegan, I was thrilled to read in the Times this week that Professor Tim Lang, a professor of food policy, has told the government that us meat-dodgers must be catered for in any 'food apocalypse'. Speaking at the Hay Festival, Lang said that if a cyber attack or military strike from Russia destroyed Britain's 'vulnerable' food chain, the contents of ration packs would need to bring comfort to a shaken public. We'd all be 'in psychological shock', he explained, so we'd need to have food that we're 'familiar and comfortable with'. In the face of 'explosions' and 'energy outages' he wouldn't want vegans to 'have to eat meat'. Well, if mushroom burgers are on the menu as the mushroom cloud goes up, then I'm feeling better about Armageddon already. Lang's remarks are just the latest step in veganism's move to the mainstream.
