Writer-in-residence: book giveaway!

John Simmons

There’s been a flurry of media interest in 'writers in residence', sparked by Alain de Botton’s stint at Heathrow. My Guardian letter explained that there are other ways to be a writer-in-residence. In fact, I took on that rather intriguing role at King’s Cross tube station for a year.

There are different ways to interpret the role. Alain de Botton was commissioned by BAA to be at Terminal 5 for a week, to set up a desk and be visible, to meet members of the public, explore stories of how T5 works, and then to write a book that BAA will give out to customers. Clearly, given the media coverage, the role was seen as a good PR opportunity for BAA.

My stint at King’s Cross was quite different. I was there for a whole year (half a day a week) and my focus was on the staff not the public. As King’s Cross is London Underground’s busiest station, managers were concerned that I should not interfere with the running of the railway. So I spent most of my time meeting members of the staff and talking to them about writing. For six months nothing much happened. It takes time for people to trust you if you’re ‘a writer’.

Two things led to the breakthrough. First, I found the right time – becoming a shift-worker and running workshops in mid-evenings after the rush hour. Second, I found the right person – a station supervisor called Abdul Habib who was an enthusiastic writer (mainly about Pakistani cricket). Abdul did a wonderful job recruiting people for the workshops, overcoming resistance caused by a lack of confidence in writing abilities.

The King’s Cross writers produced some good writing in short workshop sessions. London Underground’s Platform for Art collected and published the writing in a book called King’s Cross is Rising. There were some pieces by me, but I was most proud of the writing by ordinary platform assistants and ticket office clerks. There is so much suppressed creativity in the world.

So a writer-in-residence might get some funny looks. But I wish we had more of them out there, helping people to unlock creativity through writing.

I have ten copies of King’s Cross is Rising to give away to any interested readers. Just contact the blog editors with your postal address, stating clearly what competition you are entering, by 4 September 2009 and I’ll send you a copy.

John Simmons is author of 26 ways of looking at a blackberry published by A&C Black.