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Poetry collection gives a voice to refugees and asylum seekers

19 March 2015

 

A novelist and poet is hoping her latest venture will help to raise money for a charity that supports survivors of torture.

Sophie Nicholls, a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Teesside University, has seen her poetry collection, ‘Refugee,’ re-launched on the Amazon Kindle, with all proceeds going to the Freedom from Torture charity.

Refugee is a collection of poems inspired by the real life experiences of refugees and asylum seekers who Sophie met when carrying out creative writing workshops for the Write to Life group at Freedom from Torture.

The poems represent the struggles, injustices and persecutions suffered by people, both in their homeland and in the UK. They reflect on what home means and how people strive to find their own home in the world.

Refugee was first published by Salt in 2011, but Sophie has now made it available on the Amazon Kindle after learning it was being used to teach students at another university.

She decided to donate proceeds to Freedom from Torture, a UK charity dedicated to the treatment and rehabilitation of survivors of torture.

'I became involved with Freedom from Torture a number of years ago and was asked to carry out some creative writing workshops for refugees and asylum seekers,' explained Sophie.

'Over the years I met some incredible people with inspirational stories of courage and strength. The poems are a way of giving these people a voice and making their experiences heard.

'I hope that people will enjoy the book and the fact they will be helping Freedom from Torture continue its crucial work – supporting people to tell their stories and have them witnessed by the wider world.'

Sophie has published four novels, including The Dress, which was an Amazon bestseller in 2011 and has sold over 165,000 copies. She is part of Teesside University’s School of Arts & Media which has launched a range of new courses in areas such as contemporary fashion, textile design and graphic novels.

Sophie added: 'I'm fascinated by the connections between writing and wellbeing and the way that so many of us now use writing to help us to process difficult experiences, to reshape our lives on the page or to make sense of the world around us.'

Sophie is also programme leader on another innovative new course at Teesside University – the MA Creative Writing (Distance Learning). The course is taught completely online with video tutorials, online workshops, discussion forums and feedback.

'It means that people can study the course from anywhere in the world, at times which are convenient for them,' explained Sophie.

Find out more about the MA Creative Writing (Distance Learning)


To download Refugee go to the Amazon Book Store
 
 
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