Starry Intentions

27/03/2025

Hi everyone, I hope you’re all keeping well! It’s been a long while since I last posted on here; I’ve been plodding along with my PhD, as I’m now nearing my third year. I’m enjoying the journey though! I’m reading fascinating things and learning new things as I go, I can’t wait to see where it takes me.

In other news, I’m pleased to announce that I’ve started my own podcast entitled Victorian Curiosities!

I’ve always been fascinated by Victorian history and literature ever since my A-levels, and alongside studying for my PhD, I wanted to create a platform to further explore both concepts.

You can listen to Victorian Curiosities via Podbean, Apple Podcasts and Spotify, I will list the links below.

The first episode will be coming soon, so watch this space!

– A✨

Podbean 🔗: https://www.podbean.com/wlpi/pbblog-g6sju-137aad7

Apple Podcasts 🔗: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/victorian-curiosities/id1804216063

Spotify 🔗: https://open.spotify.com/show/2z0yHZEKeGd2HjrMrBuROM

Discussing the historical significance and figures of the long nineteenth century.

28/04/2024

I’m so proud to be part of University English’s campaign. The campaign is aimed toward year 12 and 13 students wanting to study English at university. Its mission is to ‘champion, defend and expand access to the study of literature in English (in all its forms, regionalities and nationalities)…’. It’s an amazing cause, which helps to promote and emphasise the value of English as an academic subject. It was a pleasure to share my experience and the significance English has had in my life. Thank you University English!

– A📚

🔗:

Ayesha Gaye PhD Candidate in English Literature at Durham University “English Literature has enabled me to travel the world via the pages of a book. Truthfully, I do not know where I would be without English. English has allowed me to study what I love and enjoy it simultaneously. It also inspi....

07/12/2023

‘I have always loved playing around with words. I didn’t know it was called poetry. I was just an innocent kid messing around with words when an adult said, "You’re a poet".' – Benjamin Zephaniah

I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Professor Benjamin Zephaniah. As a poet of colour, Benjamin’s powerful words inspired me. He had a voice and was never afraid to use it. He took advantage of his talent, using it to educate, motivate and inspire others. His is a massive loss to the arts and he will be so missed. My thoughts are with his family and friends, I send my condolences to you all at this time.

Thank you Benjamin, for your words, and thank you for inspiring me and so many writers to not be afraid to use our voices.

– A❤️

12/05/2023

A statement from me.

20/04/2023

I was on BBC Radio Derby – The Evening Show with F**a DJ last night, reading my poem ‘Misogyny is a Sickness’. You can catch up via BBC Sounds by clicking the link below, timestamp is 2:48:14: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0fcv4ng?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile 🎙️

F**a DJ sits in. Celebrating Derbyshire and East Staffordshire's arts and entertainment.

08/03/2023

Happy to all of the amazing women out there!💜

As I do every year for IWD, I have written a poem. This year's theme is misogyny and this piece is called 'Misogyny is a Sickness'. Feminism is something that is not only important to me as a poet, but as a person; I strive to be kind, tolerant and inclusive in my daily life and my feminist beliefs consist of those three values.

Unfortunately, in our current society, misogyny is something that still stands. This is wrong. Prejudice and discrimination towards anybody, regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation, is bang out of order.

'Misogyny is a Sickness' highlights my disgust at misogyny and shares my hope for a more equal and peaceful world.

– A💜

08/03/2023

Hi everyone, I hope you're all well! Apologies for not posting for a while, I was on holiday in The Gambia for two weeks and have also been preparing to start my PhD!🎓

I would just like to wish Happy International Women's Day to all of the amazing women both nationwide and worldwide. I would also like to share my hope for an equal and peaceful world in the future. I have written a poem to celebrate IWD and will be uploading it in a separate post following this one, so keep your eyes peeled!💜

Also, I would like to say a massive thank you to Martyn Williams for having me on The Evening Show tonight on BBC Radio Derby, where I discussed my poem, 'Hard Times'. My segment is now available to listen to on BBC Sounds via this link (the timestamp is: 2:50:21)!🎙https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0f37kg4

Have a good night everyone!🌙

– A✨

Martyn chats YouTube and finds out about a spoken word workshop. There's live music too!

06/01/2023

New piece🖋️: ‘Hard Times’

As it’s the New Year, I thought I’d base my first poem of 2023 on the significance of human kindness and empathy. The title of this new piece, ‘Hard Times’, is in reference to the 1854 novel by Charles Dickens; I thought that this title was very relevant to the current social and economical issues happening around the country.

I wanted this poem to be reflective of how important it is to be kind and understand peoples’ hardship. It’s lengthier than many of my other poems, and in parts, is quite confrontational/sensitive to politics, but I hope I have achieved what I set out to with the overall message.

I hope you all enjoy reading this piece and have a good rest of the day.

–A✨

04/01/2023

Massive thank you to Martyn Williams and the team at BBC Radio Derby for inviting me on tonight’s Evening Show to discuss my poem, ‘Cocoon’. It’s always a pleasure to share my writing; I’m super grateful for the ongoing opportunities I’m given to share it on a wider media platform. If you missed me on tonight‘s show, it’s now available on BBC Sounds, just follow the link below (timestamp is: 2:50:30!)🎙️

Thank you for listening everyone and have a lovely evening!🌙

–A✨

Martyn meets the chief exec of Derby Theatre and chats about trending YouTube videos.