I’m very pleased to be featured among the portraits of writers taken by photographer, John Briggs for his exhibition Write in the Eye at Cwtsh Gallery, Newport.

‘ Write In The Eye’ brings together some 100 portraits in colour and black and white of Wales-based writers since 2002. Selected from thousands of images and taken at all manner of literary events in Wales over the past 25 years – festivals, book launches, award ceremonies, readings at open mics, literary walks, authors at home – the series illustrates just how rich and varied the Welsh literary scene is today, was and will continue to be.

John Briggs is a wonderful photographer.

You’ll recognise these folks.

John Briggs told me this about the exhibition:

“I’d like to think this is a significant documentation of literary life in Wales. |It’s organised chronologically going back to 2002, and John Berryman before that, who I photographed in 1967 in Minneapolis.

I’ve photographed so may writers because the opportunities were made available to me by two people in particular- Peter Finch and Alan Roderick. To start with, photographing people in general is my favorite subject.  I’m also a lover of the written word – studied French Lit and Classics at university, so the chance to hear and photograph authors reading and  performing their work has always appealed to me.

From one photoshoot to the next,  experience tells me that I never quite know what to expect, to be on my guard constantly in trying to capture a telling image. Taken as a whole, my collection impresses upon me the fact the literary world in Wales is not just full of surprises, but also far more extensive and varied, fuller of talented, passionate writers than I could have ever imagined.  I hope the exhibition will be useful in promoting that fact. “