City Lit catches up with Trudy Mensah, one of the winners of this year's Malorie Blackman Scholarship for Unheard Voices. We find out more about her writing experiences, winning the scholarship and her ambitions.
Tell us a little bit more about yourself and your writing background?
I am first and foremost a reader! I started writing at a young age because I really enjoyed reading. I spent a lot of my early childhood exploring this world and others from my bedroom in a small flat on an estate in Islington. Reading and writing were ways for me to understand the world and to escape it. Up until recently, writing was my secret hobby.
What role does writing play in your life, and why is it important to you?
Writing is cathartic in a lot of ways. It’s also one of the few places where I can play and get away from the pressures of having to be anything other than myself. It's also really important as a way of documenting histories and other people’s stories.
Who are your favourite writers and what stories have inspired you?
Favourite writers … that’s always such a hard question! My family are my first inspiration – many of my family members are great storytellers and I grew up hearing stories about our family’s larger-than-life characters. Both of my parents are of Ewe heritage, from the Volta Region in Ghana. They lived in Glasgow when they first came to the UK in the 1980s and later moved to London where I was born.
It was in my school and local libraries that I was first handed books by Malorie Blackman and Benjamin Zephaniah. Hacker and Noughts & Crosses were the first books that I read with Black girls as main protagonists. I think writers and stories like these that have inspired me the most – ones that led me to ask new questions about the world and opened up new possibilities for who I could be.
I love writing that explores a character’s inner world whilst also really getting to the essence or feeling of a certain time. At uni, I studied development economics but I spent more time in African literature classes where I was introduced to writers like Buchi Emecheta, Toni Morrison, and Ayi Kwei Armah.
I’ve been getting into more short story collections recently and one that I’ve really enjoyed is Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer.
What made you decide to study at City Lit?
When I was looking for a short story writing course, City Lit was one of the first places that came to mind. I’d come across City Lit when I read about the life stories of Malorie Blackman and Andrea Levy. I liked that there were writing courses that were open to all, regardless of educational or professional background. All the tutors are experienced and the classes were on at convenient times. I took a writing course and I really liked how it felt like an inclusive and non-intimidating space to learn.
What courses have you studied at City Lit and why?
I did the ‘Write a short story in a weekend’ course because I needed an extra push with some of my writing. I really enjoyed it; I learned lots from Maame Blue who I was very fortunate to have as my course tutor. It was really helpful to have feedback from other writers on the course. I also realised why I’d found writing difficult at times and what I’d been missing by trying to do it alone - having guidance and working with others made a big difference to what was possible for me to do.
What made you decide to apply for the Malorie Blackman scholarship?
After I’d taken the short story course, I found myself regularly having a browse through the City Lit catalogue, thinking “I’d really like to do these other courses one day …”. I saw the scholarship advertised and it looked like a great opportunity. I think a big part of my decision to apply was the possibility that Malorie might read my work – so being read and selected for the scholarship feels unreal!
The term ‘unheard voices’ also really resonated with me. I thought about what it meant to be unheard for me – my experiences and my questions about where we find (or don’t) the courage and skill to make ourselves heard. The scholarship opportunity appeared at a time when I was increasingly feeling like, to quote from A Litany for Survival, “it is better to speak … ”.
What do you hope to achieve through the scholarship scheme?
I would really like to deepen my understanding of writing as a craft, to improve my writing with guidance from teachers and to connect with other writers.
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Learn to write stories, articles, and poetry in the same college where big names in literature such as Malorie Blackman and Andrea Levy have trained.
