Villanova Creating Writing students visit Belfast over spring break

Students in Pros. Alan Drew and Tsering Wangmo's "Writing Through Conflict" class travelled to Belfast in Northern Ireland over the break.the Writing Through Conflict class, where they enjoyed had a fantastic and intense week of writing workshops, symposiums, and readings at Queens University's Seamus Heaney Center. Using the Troubles and the tension surrounding the Brexit vote as a backdrop, students wrote their own fiction and prose that interrogated socio-politcal issues, both in the United States and in Belfast. They had the opportunity to workshop their own creative work in Belfast in group workshops and in one-on-ones with such respected Northern Irish writers as Glenn Patterson, Lucy Caldwell, Jimmy McAleavey, Michael Hughes, and Ian Samson. Students also participated in various other events sponsored by Queens: a film screening of The Truth Commissioner, followed by a Q&A with poet Nick Laird and novelist David Park, the author of the novel on which the film is based. They also attended a panel at the Ulster Museum with Lucy Caldwell, Lisa McGee, the creator of the hit television series Derry Girls, and singer/songwriter/producer Iain Archer, formerly of the band Snow Patrol. The whole week culminated in a student showcase/dinner at which students read from their work.