Other Voices, Other Times

I recently attended a one day symposium titled Other Voices, Other Times; the aim of which was to explore representation in historical and fantasy writing. It was a wonderful, if rather busy day at one of Bath Spa University’s beautiful campuses in Wiltshire. It began with the keynote speakers Ashley Pharoah (Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes) and Professor Gerard Woodward on writing the seventies. It’s interesting that even when writing about a decade that many in the audience could remember, there are still debates to be had about what actually happened and what people remembered happening.
I then attended the ethical perspectives workshop which covered: the relationship between writing history and historical fiction (this was covered in depth at last years’ Institute of Historical Research conference); voices of the forgotten; and the question of authenticity (this kept cropping up during the day). A fascinating aspect was the role that creative writing is now taking in museums. Indeed, one of my favourite notes that I took of the day was ‘writer as curator.’
The second keynote speakers were Celia Brayfield (reading Fay Weldon’s paper as she was unable to attend) and Dr Ian Mortimer. The former suggesting that historical research need only be basic and the latter that there will always be a gap between the writing of history and historical fiction.
Finally, I went to a workshop that included a paper on one novelists’ experience of researching and writing a novel on the 1857 Indian Uprising. Although my novel is set in a different period, I could relate to the various issues and felt less alone. I came away from the day inspired and very enthusiastic about getting on with my novel (four chapters to go...).