Business Of ... York Students

We spoke to two students in their second year at the University of York to discover how their writing has been affected by the lockdown in the UK. Chloe Roberts writes a blog about her hiking and walking life across the country. Matthew King is the news editor for the campus newspaper, Nouse.

So firstly, how has lockdown affected your work? 

Chloe: I write a blog about walking in National Parks such as the Yorkshire Moors, Yorkshire Dales, and the Peak District. Therefore, due to travel restrictions and not allowing group outings, my writing has halted.

Matthew: Lockdown has given me a lot more time to do my work, however it has made me feel unproductive and thus I find it hard to do my work despite having the time to do it.

Will things change permanently for you / your organisation?

Chloe: My writing has halted at the moment but it will restart as soon as the activities are allowed. Then I can start writing again.

Matthew: Nouse will be changed heavily for the foreseeable future.

Have there been any benefits to your work due to quarantine? 

Matthew: To be totally honest – no. Our team had been reduced from about 50 odd to 15 so it has really hit us hard, plus students from outside of the society have not been writing as much which also has affected us too.

Chloe: I cannot travel. My writing has been stopped, which is definitely not a benefit.

How has digital technology and the Internet affected the way you work under lock

down? 

Matthew: It has been critical – Nouse could not have published our 'Weekly Nouse' without it.

Are you optimistic for the post-lock down world? 

Chloe: In terms of my writing, I believe that nothing will have to be changed. In a post-lockdown world, I will be able to get back to my writing.

Matthew: I am rather pessimistic but I do have some hope for the distant future.

How will lockdown affect ethical issues such as class or race relations in literature

and society? 

Matthew: People from working class and minority backgrounds are already disadvantaged within access to literature before lockdown – now that children don’t have access to schools and libraries, this disadvantage will grow.

Do you think that a global crisis such as this will detract from the creative arts as we

focus simply on survival? 

Matthew: Yes and no. I think it will distract as the sciences are seen as more valuable to society, however, I do think that because people have more time on their hands we are divulging into the creative to help fill time.

Chloe: I think creative arts are becoming more important in times like these. We are finding new and exciting ways to express ourselves and our feelings. Children are being more creative in their activities such as art, reading and writing. It is not material things that are getting people through this time, it is the creative arts that are entertaining people.

The Lockdown Creative are working towards a communal poetry anthology, what

would you like to see in literature arising from the current context of the world? 

Chloe: I think people out of power, everyday people, should question these people in power. We should question why this virus occurred, and the ways people have controlled it. I think the world just wants answers and literature may be a way of getting them.

How do you cope with inevitable issues of motivation and inspiration when things feel

so stagnant and repetitive?

Matthew: I find it very hard, but I try to separate my work life and relaxation time as much as I can so that the two don’t overlap and cause me further stress.

Do you have a wider message that could benefit people outside literature at the

moment? 

Matthew: Keep writing, doesn’t have to be good – just writing your thoughts can be so beneficial and cathartic.

Chloe: Look at the positives and take one day at a time. Set manageable goals and activities to get the joy from these small victories.

To submit a poem for our anthology, or get more information about our project, please email: businessofbooksg6@gmail.com