Biography
I've always been fascinated by politics and art and have spent my life combining the two. As a teenage revolutionary I painted political 
posters; as an art student I trained in documentary photography. To further my theoretical knowledge I studied government and history at the London School of Economics. I then made the obvious move for every LSE graduate and became a carnival artist. Constructing costumes combined community politics with art and sequins, my dream job! Inspired by working for Notting Hill carnival I moved to Trinidad to study the festival at its roots, spending three years working for world famous carnival designer, Peter Minshall at the Callaloo Company. The tiny Caribbean island has a huge literary reputation and its highly creative culture turned me into a writer. I co-authored the Rough Guide to Trinidad and Tobago, contributed to various Caribbean publications and became the first foreign female to perform at Breaking New Ground, the showcase for new Rapso singers. In 1999 I returned to England to attend the MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia where my tutors were Michele Roberts and Andrew Motion.
On completing my MA I moved to Brighton where I guided homeless writers to publication for four years at the Brighton Big Issue Writing Group. Appointed writer in residence in 2003 at the First Base Day Centre, a place of safety for homeless and vulnerable adults run by BHT, I established the First Base Arts Project - managing 11 artists providing three days of creative activities per week, including writing, photography, film, art and drama. 250 service users attended annually, earning themselves £8,000 in publication fees during the four years I managed the project.
Inspired by requests from those I worked with, I established Creative Future with Simon Powell in March 2007. This charity trains and promotes marginalised artists
and writers in the south east of England, enabling them to earn income through their own talents. In 2008 I won an Arts Council
bursary for The Literacy Consultancy Mentoring Scheme and was mentored by Sara
Maitland whilst writing my novel, Cane Hill. As well as a published writer and photographer, I am also a qualified adult education teacher with experience in a wide variety of educational and community settings. I'm a trained Lapidus mentor for those wishing to run therapeutic writing groups.
My written work features marginalised people, those who live on the edge but see the bigger picture. My current novel, Cane Hill, is a dual narrative: two women from two different time periods and cultures, with one thing in common, Cane Hill, a mental hospital in south London. It is a story of identity, of cultural difference and of finding one's roots. I continue to combine politics and art, whether in my written work or through mentoring others. Creativity, I believe, empowers. See my CV and Publications List for further information.
posters; as an art student I trained in documentary photography. To further my theoretical knowledge I studied government and history at the London School of Economics. I then made the obvious move for every LSE graduate and became a carnival artist. Constructing costumes combined community politics with art and sequins, my dream job! Inspired by working for Notting Hill carnival I moved to Trinidad to study the festival at its roots, spending three years working for world famous carnival designer, Peter Minshall at the Callaloo Company. The tiny Caribbean island has a huge literary reputation and its highly creative culture turned me into a writer. I co-authored the Rough Guide to Trinidad and Tobago, contributed to various Caribbean publications and became the first foreign female to perform at Breaking New Ground, the showcase for new Rapso singers. In 1999 I returned to England to attend the MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia where my tutors were Michele Roberts and Andrew Motion. On completing my MA I moved to Brighton where I guided homeless writers to publication for four years at the Brighton Big Issue Writing Group. Appointed writer in residence in 2003 at the First Base Day Centre, a place of safety for homeless and vulnerable adults run by BHT, I established the First Base Arts Project - managing 11 artists providing three days of creative activities per week, including writing, photography, film, art and drama. 250 service users attended annually, earning themselves £8,000 in publication fees during the four years I managed the project.
During this time I tried my hand at radio and TV
scripts, journalism and short stories. My short story, Cutting Free, won second prize in a local competition and was
broadcast on BBC Southern Counties radio. A monologue, featuring the story of a
homeless woman, was given a rehearsed reading directed by Annie Castledine at
The Nightingale Theatre, Brighton in 2005, whilst a radio play, The
Circle Line, was given a rehearsed reading in 2003. I have had articles published in The Guardian, LAPIDUS journal, Survivors
Poetry & various Jessica Kingsley, Queenspark Books & Caribbean publications.
Inspired by requests from those I worked with, I established Creative Future with Simon Powell in March 2007. This charity trains and promotes marginalised artists
and writers in the south east of England, enabling them to earn income through their own talents. In 2008 I won an Arts Council
bursary for The Literacy Consultancy Mentoring Scheme and was mentored by Sara
Maitland whilst writing my novel, Cane Hill. As well as a published writer and photographer, I am also a qualified adult education teacher with experience in a wide variety of educational and community settings. I'm a trained Lapidus mentor for those wishing to run therapeutic writing groups. My written work features marginalised people, those who live on the edge but see the bigger picture. My current novel, Cane Hill, is a dual narrative: two women from two different time periods and cultures, with one thing in common, Cane Hill, a mental hospital in south London. It is a story of identity, of cultural difference and of finding one's roots. I continue to combine politics and art, whether in my written work or through mentoring others. Creativity, I believe, empowers. See my CV and Publications List for further information.
