Vanessa Onwuemezi in conversation with Colin Herd

31 May 2023
00:00
1:03:57

Each resident has the opportunity to present publicly material that relates to the activities, research and making they engaged in while in residence.

On 31 May at Cortachy Castle, we hosted several guests to hear our inaugural writer in residence, Vanessa Onwuemezi in conversation with Glasgow-based poet, Colin Herd. Vanessa began the event reading an extract from her second book that she started while in residence. After, Colin and Vanessa discussed writing about elusive identities, atmospheres and phenomena, which they explored by looking at UFOs, the ‘haar’ (a sea fog), and the expressive possibilities of language when written in translation and in relation to artworks.

Vanessa Onwuemezi

Vanessa Onwuemezi is a writer living in London. She is the winner of The White Review Short Story Prize in 2019 and her work has appeared in literary and art magazines, including Granta, Frieze and Prototype. Her debut story collection, Dark Neighbourhood, was published in 2021 by Fitzcarraldo Editions and was named one of TheGuardian’s Best Books of 2021. It was shortlisted for both the Republic of Consciousness Prize and the Edge Hill Prize in 2022. Her short story Green Afternoon was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award 2022.

Colin Herd

Colin Herd was born in Stirling and lives in Glasgow, where he works as a poet and Lecturer in Creative Writing at Glasgow University. Published works include too ok (BlazeVOX, 2011), Glovebox (Knives, Forks and Spoons, 2014), Oberwildling (2015), a collaboration with SJ Fowler based on the life and work of German Expressionist Oskar Kokoschka, Click & Collect (Boiler House Press, 2017), Swamp Kiss (Red Ceilings Press, 2018) and You Name It (Dostoyevsky Wannabe, 2019).

Colin Herd’s frequent collaborations, with artists and poets alike, include artists’ books such as Blots, with Susan Wilson, and Open Wound with Cat Outram. He has also collaborated with many writers on a series of poetry performances as part of SJ Fowler’s ‘The Enemies Project’. Colin has published reviews and articles on art and literature in publications including Aesthetica Magazine, 3:AM Magazine, PN Review and The Independent.