Headingley LitFest: A modest proposal

Wednesday, 28 May 2008

A modest proposal

Doug Sandle writes:

Leeds Rugby Arts Steering Group and Headingley LitFest 2009

Proposal for Creative Writing Competition as a partnership project between the Rugby Arts Steering Group (Leeds Rugby Foundation) and the Headingley LitFest.

As part of its future programme, the Rugby Arts Steering Group has earmarked a creative writing competition as a possible event to be organised in the 2009 season*. The intention was to promote a creative writing competition among the fans and general rugby constituency, which might feature children’s and adult categories and be open to submissions in poetry, short story , short film script, or a personal account / reminiscence on the theme of rugby.

While details have not been finalised the competition could concern both rugby codes and the two clubs, Leeds Rhinos and Leeds Carnegie. It was also envisaged that this proposal would facilitate some education / community work around creative writing, particularly given the facilities and experience of the Leeds Rugby Foundation’s educational work and also given that the Director of Leeds Arts Forms (Education Leeds) is a member of the Rugby Arts Steering Group.

Given the further development of the Headingley LitFest and its plans for a second event during the spring of 2009, there is an obvious opportunity for a cooperative partnership among the Rugby Arts Steering Group, the Leeds Rugby Foundation and the Headingley LitFest to incorporate the Rugby Creative Writing Competition into the festival, with mutual benefit.

Promoted as part of the Headingley LitFest, the work of the Rugby Arts Steering Group would have greater reach and contact with the local area and community, while the HLF would have the opportunity to reach the many thousands of people that are associated with Leeds Rugby and its activities. There is also potential opportunity for greater publicity and marketing for the festival through the involvement of the marketing and PR arm of Leeds Rugby. The close partnership association between Leeds Metropolitan University and Leeds Rugby would also potentially enable the project to reach out to many of the local Leeds student population. The possibility of using the stadium as a venue for some of the festival’s events is also seen as a potential benefit to both organisations.

It is proposed that initial discussion should take place involving Richard Wilcocks (Representative HLF), Doug Sandle (Chair LRASG) and Chris Rostron, (Manager of the Leeds Rugby Foundation), and then formal proposals discussed by the respective committees.

29.05.08

*Successful projects so far have been commissioning the composer Carl Davis to create a (7 minute) orchestral anthem to the Leeds Rhinos (Hold On), sponsored by Leeds Met, which has been recorded by the Orchestra of Opera North, a one year artist in residence project supported by the Arts Council of England, Yorkshire, and the ongoing commissioning and production of a contemporary dance to the music of Hold On.

Below, Doug Sandle (photo by James Heartfield) at a Leeds Met symposium:

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LITERARY HEADINGLEY

Headingley is just the place for it! Don't expect a big circus with marquees, though: we're not at that stage yet. We're all volunteers as well.

Our venues include the HEART Centre on Bennett Road, the New Headingley Club on St Michael's Road, friendly cafés, historic local cinemas, Headingley Library, people's houses and the historic Leeds Library in Commercial Street, city centre.

Headingley's Literary Links

Headingley has strong connections with many writers:

Arthur Ransome was born in Headingley, J R R Tolkien lived at 5 Holly Bank and also at 2 Darnley Road, West Park when he was reader in English Language at the University of Leeds 1920 - 25, Alan Bennett lived over a butcher's shop opposite the Three Horseshoes, now Royale Dry Cleaners.

Lucy Newlyn has published poetry about her early life in Headingley, George Orwell stayed at 21 Estcourt Avenue with his sister Marjorie and her husband Humphrey 'Humpy' Dakin (with whom he visited the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth), T S Eliot used to visit his mother-in-law in Weetwood Lane, William Fryer Harvey was brought up in Spring Bank, Trevor Griffiths lived just off Victoria Road on Winstanley Terrace, Jon Silkin's first office of STAND magazine was his flat at 144 Otley Road, Sir Geoffrey Hill lived in Shire Oak Road, Peter Redgrove lived in Headingley between 1962 and 1965 when he was Gregory Fellow of Poetry at the University of Leeds, and playwright Kay Mellor still lives near The Hollies in Far Headingley.

Wilson Barrett, the charismatic first manager of the Grand Theatre, Leeds (a prolific playwright as well), lived in Beech Grove Terrace, Woodhouse in the 1870s. His house was a meeting place for many writers, artists and visitors to Leeds - such as W. S. Gilbert, George Grossmith and Atkinson Grimshaw.

Headingley LitFest 2020 was the thirteenth. The fourteenth will take place from March 2021 and will be adapted to the rules of the Covid pandemic. We are now a proud part of the annual Leeds Lit Fest.