Covid-19 Inspired Creative Writing

Berkhamsted-based Michelle Stevens tells us how and why she and old school friend Clair Whitefield set up a website to showcase creative writing inspired by Covid-19 and lockdown.

Due to the global Coronavirus pandemic, we have all been living through challenging times. Lockdown, the impact of Covid-19, and the new ‘normal’ that we find ourselves in is something very different for everyone. For some, the last few months have been an extremely hard to maintain juggle of life, work, and kids, for others a valuable opportunity to take a breather, re-evaluate and enjoy family life. Some will be experiencing the struggle of the financial and emotional burdens that this situation has created. Key workers on the frontline have worked tirelessly, witnessing never imagined scenarios and of course others have experienced devastating losses as those close to them were taken before their time.

Keeping a record

As someone who found herself inspired to jot down on paper poems about events as they unfolded, I realised that of course I wasn’t the only one turning to writing to vent feelings, emotions, and to utilise writing as a means of escapism during the turbulent times we were facing.

At some point life will be back to normal or whatever our new ‘normal’ manifests itself to be and while 2020 will never be forgotten, I wanted to ensure that some of the creativity that has been sparked during these unusual times was documented in one place not just for now but for reflection in the future. So, in collaboration with an old school friend I created the online platform, Inspiration In Isolation to showcase creative writing from both new and experienced writers. Inspiration In Isolation offers a different perspective on our current world, every single day, offering prose, poems, short stories from writers aged 6 to 69. In three months, we have amassed over 140 pieces of writing from over 75 different writers. From humour, to observational to more poignant and moving pieces, the contributions provide a variety of views and a historical record of the events, feelings, and emotions that people experienced during Covid19.

Take a look at the website, we have contributions from writers both new and more established from across the globe, quite a few from our home turf of Berkhamsted including some local Berkhamsted school children. Over the past few weeks, Tring Radio has also been featuring poems from the website several times a week as their ‘Poem of the Day’. If you have been inspired to pick up a pen over the past few months we would love to have even more local writers featured on the site so please send us your work for consideration – email: contact@inspirationinisolation.co.uk.

Take a moment to yourself, grab a cuppa and have a read: www.inspirationinisolation.co.uk or follow on Twitter @inspoiniso.