{"id":7574,"date":"2021-07-30T15:05:09","date_gmt":"2021-07-30T15:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/daastan.com\/blog\/?p=7574"},"modified":"2021-07-30T15:05:43","modified_gmt":"2021-07-30T15:05:43","slug":"coming-to-a-close-pandemictales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/daastan.com\/blog\/coming-to-a-close-pandemictales\/","title":{"rendered":"Coming to a Close – #PandemicTales"},"content":{"rendered":"

Throughout the month of July, Daastan<\/a> held the #PandemicTales or Tales From the Pandemic campaign. This was a series of interviews<\/em> with authors about their experiences of the pandemic<\/em> and lockdown.<\/em> Daastan also held a short form poetry competition<\/em> this month on the theme of the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Interview With Damien Barr<\/h2>\n

The first interview that we carried out was a written interview with author<\/em> and broadcaster<\/em> Damien Barr<\/a>. He gave us some great insights into the impact of the pandemic on the creative industry. He also discussed how his renowned literary salons<\/em> were affected during this time. We discussed his viral tweet<\/em> which made waves during lockdown and got a mention from Oprah. You can read the full interview here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“We are not all in the same boat. We are all in the same storm. Some are on super-yachts. Some have just the one oar.” – Damian Barr (@Damian_Barr)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Discussion With Benjamin Zephaniah<\/h2>\n

Following this, we had the pleasure of talking with world famous poet, activist<\/em> and author<\/em>, Benjamin Zephaniah<\/a>. We discussed his new book “Windrush Child”<\/a> and his new television show Life and Rhymes<\/a><\/em>, both of which came out during lockdown. He also touched on the Black Lives Matter<\/em> movement and opened up about his own cousin’s tragic death. We also talked about nature,<\/em> authenticity<\/em> and he gave some invaluable tips and tricks for budding poets.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Daastan (@mydaastan)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Interview With Ruth Allen<\/h2>\n

We then interviewed psychotherapist<\/em> and author<\/em> Ruth Allen<\/a>, as part of our #PandemicTales campaign. We discussed her new book “Grounded”<\/a> and the idea of reconnecting with nature<\/em>. She also touched on abuses of nature, isolation vs solitude<\/em> and the role that social media has played in Ruth’s life over the past year and a half. As Ruth is a therapist, it was fascinating to get her thoughts on the pandemic from a mental health perspective.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Daastan (@mydaastan)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In Conversation with Keston Sutherland<\/h2>\n

Later on in the campaign, we had a chat with poet<\/em> and professor of poetics<\/em>, Keston Sutherland<\/a>. Keston discussed his new book “Scherzos Benjyosos”<\/a> and its links with lockdown and finding clarity<\/em> in a time of chaos<\/em>. He also touched on his writing processes and how these have been affected. And the way his creativity has been stunted, but his academic work has thrived. It was interesting to hear how even the most successful creative, has struggled for inspiration during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Daastan (@mydaastan)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Final Interview with Oana Aristide<\/h2>\n

Finally we had the pleasure of interviewing Oana Aristide<\/em><\/a> for our #PandemicTales campaign. We discussed her wonderful debut novel “Under The Blue”<\/a> and its parallels to the real life pandemic. She talked about the environment<\/em> and Britain and Greece’s responses to the pandemic. We also talked philosophy<\/em>, Artificial Intelligence<\/em> and her novel’s pressing message.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Daastan (@mydaastan)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

#PandemicTales Poetry Competition<\/h2>\n

As part of this campaign, we also ran a short form poetry competition<\/em> to showcase the creativity which has emerged from the pandemic. The competition ran from the 12th July<\/strong> to the 27th July.<\/strong> We asked people to write on 3 categories which were:<\/p>\n