Student scribes’ work on show in Herbert art gallery

Students on Coventry University’s new degree in creative writing will be showing off their penmanship over the next few weeks as their work is exhibited in the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum.

The first cohort of the BA (Hons) English and Creative Writing course, which is run by tutors Alyson Morris and Tim Kelly in the Department of English and Languages, was invited by curators at the Herbert to spend time in the gallery writing poetry inspired by its various collections.

Now the undergraduates’ work is being displayed on plaques alongside the permanent exhibits, and visitors to the gallery and museum can take away an anthology of the poetry to keep.

The opportunity follows the continued success of the University’s Coventry Words magazine – copies of which are available in the Herbert – which is produced by creative writing students and features their best poetry and prose.

Alyson Morris, course director for the new degree in creative writing, said:

This is a fantastic opportunity for our students and a testament to the quality of the work that they are already producing after just one year of the new course. It’s not every day you have creative work exhibited in the Herbert gallery!

Hopefully the poetry on display will help visitors to the gallery and museum enjoy a fresh and imaginative perspective on the collections to complement the artists’ own descriptions which accompany the exhibits.

Martin Roberts, senior curator at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, said:

The poetry collaboration with the English and Creative Writing students was a great way to strengthen our literary links with the University, and it has been interesting and rewarding to see how the students have portrayed the Herbert’s artworks.

The students’ work will remain on show in the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum throughout summer.