By Hiba Ul-hasan, BA History
In this issue, we present to you another society spotlight: the SOAS Writers Society. Although it is only in its second year of operation, the society already has a vibrant and diverse community.
Among SOAS’s many literary societies, you will find the Writers Society. Its inception was motivated by a desire to unite the University’s creative writing community. Given that SOAS is known as a humanities university, it is surprising that there was not a community space for individuals to share and talk about writing. From this idea, the Writers Society came into being and has since become a hub for creative individuals who share a common interest in writing.
So far, the Writers Society has hosted a variety of activities both inside and outside the University buildings. This term alone, they have already held a group visit to the British Museum’s latest exhibition, Artists Making Books: Poetry to Politics. It will also hold a poetry writing workshop with the Kurdish Society on the theme of Diaspora: A Home Away from Home on January 26th, with the night offering the opportunity to explore Kurdish poetry, develop your own, and perform it during an open mic segment of the event.
The Writers Society’s most prominent and significant events are its monthly writing workshops. Each session seeks to explore a particular theme using various writing forms. They held a workshop in October to commemorate Black History Month. In it, they discussed ‘The Black Experience’ and looked at poetry written by prominent black poets such as Maya Angelou. They also arranged a film screening of ‘The Kite Runner’ with the Film Society. There they had a workshop on scriptwriting as well as a discussion of the movie as part of Islamophobia Awareness Month.
The Writers Society has no plans to slow down this semester either. They are already planning numerous events for its members, including Valentine’s Day activities in February, International Women’s Day events in March, and an open mic at the end of the academic year.
The Writers Society is a society within the SOAS community that contributes to the universities’ rich cultural growth. As we look ahead, we hope that the society will continue to be a haven for all of SOAS’ creative minds.
“To become involved with the Writers Society and stay up to speed, follow its Instagram page and join its WhatsApp group for future updates.”
To become involved with the Writers Society and stay up to speed, follow its Instagram page and join its WhatsApp group for future updates. If you want to see specific activities in the future, please contact the society via Instagram or their official email! (All of this information may be found on their LinkTree, @soaswriterssociety.)