Grey Coat Issue 20: February 2012 GCH Literary Society news


Apart from a childhood wish to be Indiana Jones, Andre had always known that he wished to be a writer and so he moved north to St Andrew's where he was awarded an M.Litt. in Creative Writing. So popular has this field become that universities now offer BA courses in Creative Writing which are taught by UNPUBLISHED writers. Moreover some individuals staffing Creative Writing courses undertake the work solely because they are not making enough money from their own writing. Some tutors are therefore very pessimistic and declare there is "no hope of a future in publishing". Andre's key point in answer to Pip Duployen's question was to supply publishers with a very detailed CV.


Photos: Andre Naffis-Sahely


During the autumn term, members of the Literary Society looked forward to the return of Andre Naffis-Sahely from India.


Previous speakers in 2011 had advised sixth formers to enter competitions and to practise writing in a variety of forms. As a poet and translator, Andre would be contributing a different perspective to GCH listeners and to guests from the Sloane Square Francis Holland School. Whilst understanding the sixth formers' applications to read English at university, Andre pointed out that the girls would always read literature and so a degree in, for instance, philosophy would extend their intellectual repertoire. For his first degree, Andre studied History and Politics at Leicester.


A specialist in translating Francophone literature (particularly that from North Africa), Andre's background may have contributed to his interest in literature in other languages. From Venice, Andre travelled with his Italian mother and Iranian father to highly cosmopolitan Abu Dhabi. Surprisingly however Andre declared himself a poor linguist. After spending 3 months in Germany, ordering a cup of coffee continued to be impossible.


Should working in translation appeal, Andre stated that accuracy would be checked by an external reader after discussing points earlier with an editor. What really matters is familiarising oneself with the life of the poet. His enthusiasm arose from a holiday in Morocco where he read a memoir about growing up in Fez in the 1950s.


Andre's literary career started with book reviews. Since editors will only


pay for 500 words, the choice of each word really matters and the need to be concise is a valuable discipline. Reading the publishers' proof copies means a reviewer can offer an article to the TLS etcetera in advance of publication. In reply to Shayane Lacey, Andre revealed that the writer who had made the greatest


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impact on him was Robert Lowell. Travel and experiences which bring insight are essential developments. It is crucial to have something to say - unlike the best writer on Andre's course. At the moment Andre is finding pleasure in reading 20th century German fiction and writing his first novel, about the predicament of burying a body. Advice for those planning to become an author is "always to bounce your ideas off someone else". His warning to poets is that on average it takes 5 years to produce a volume and the poet would have to return the £3,000 advance should the book not sell.


Ms McMellan


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