Set up just over a year ago, identity on tyne supports the development of new writing and live literature in the North East, with a spotlight on writers of colour. Literature North East talks to the organisation's founder Sheree Mack

Why did you set up identity on tyne?
I set up identity on tyne for selfish reasons. I wanted to share my work with fellow minded writers and not have to explain everything, especially things concerning race etc.

I received funding from the Arts Council to carry out a feasibility study into whether there were Black, Asian, Caribbean and Chinese writers in the North East. identity on tyne came into being in August 2003 as a virtual group. For our first bodily meeting I booked a workshop with Dorothea Smartt in October 2004. Since then, it's gone from strength to strength. And now we are spotlighting writers of colour in the North East as we didn't want to exclude anybody.

Isn't the North East the least racially diverse area of the country? Was this a factor in your decision to set up the group?
It is one of the least racially diverse areas in the UK, but things are changing. When I was growing up in the North East, if I saw a black person on the street I would say hello and talk to them, even though I didn't know them. Now if I did that I wouldn't get where I was going, there's so many black, Asian, Chinese, Caribbean, Iranian, Somalian etc faces on the street now. But yes, partly I did create id with the aim of getting more of these black faces in one place and to have some quality time with each other, to support and encourage each other.

Did you initially find it hard to reach potential members of the group?
I used all the contacts I could think of to get the word out about identity on tyne. I was lucky that I had just finished the MA in Creative Writing at Northumbria, so this meant I had the confidence to network and also had the opportunity of finding out about the literary landscape in the North East. I had a contact at the Arts Council who then put me in touch with people she thought could help me, and then they put me in contact with others. It is like a snowball rolling down a hill gathering snow and momentum as it goes and getting bigger and bigger and – watch out, here we come!

Would you say that writers of colour find it harder to get published than their white counterparts?
Yes, yes, we've all seen the publication haven't we – In Full Colour – research carried out by decibel and the trade magazine The Bookseller, detailing the truth about the UK publishing industry and how the workforce is ‘overwhelmingly white' . Only 10% of those surveyed were from ethnic minority groups, management level is almost exclusively white and no minority ethnic authors are in the top 100 books of 2003. This survey showed that if those in the positions of choosing and promoting books are predominately white, this hardly mirrors the populations of the UK and they're hardly going to connect to black perspectives in literature. There's the few that get through, like White Teeth by Zadie Smith, Brick Lane by Monica Ali etc, which were heavily marketed and hyped. But then this gives the impression that they represent the whole of the black experience and that this is how all black people write. Black British literature is as complex and varied as black British people. As Andre Levy said, “If there's half a million black people in this country, there's half a million ways of being black.” That's why we are seeing an increase in the number of small and independent black and Asian presses developing in the UK – Black Amber, Brown Skin Books, Tamarind Books, Saqi Books – eager to tap into the growing market.

What have you been doing for Black History Month?
What haven't I been doing for Black History Month? Sleeping!

BlackWords came about because I was looking for things to do last year during October and there was nothing I could find in the North East which appealed to me as an artist, a writer, an intellectual. So I thought again, the same as with id, if it doesn't exist, then create it yourself and I did. I got funding from the Arts Council and created the BlackWords festival.

This started off in September with a performance work show for the members of id to get them ready for the month of readings to come. This was Doreen Baidoo, a wonderful poet and facilitator from Bristol. We started well and things could only get better. We launched our anthology, A Taste of Liquorice, at the City Library at the beginning of October and it was an excellent evening. An evening we tried to mirror throughout the month as we visited the Lit and Phil, Gateshead, South Shields, and Hexham library last week. The tour was an amazing experience, where we saw a different audience each night. And the feedback has been so positive that we know we can go back out on tour and be welcomed.

Along with the promotion of A Taste of Liquorice, we've had creative writing workshops, radio interviews, debates and storytelling. It's been a fun packed month and a half and most enjoyable, but I'm looking to do something different next year, to keep us progressing and developing.

Tell us more about A Taste of Liquorice
A Taste of Liquorice is our first group anthology. This book isn't about being black in the North East of England. It isn't about racism and discrimination, although some pieces may contain some or all of these things. There was no aim to create a catalogue of woes. No plan to bear our trials and tribulations.

The reality of our diverse lives and cultures is more vibrant, more vital, than that. This collection of original prose, poetry and reflective pieces features seven developing writers of colour. They are united in their desire to entertain, enthral and educate.

 
Do you have any plans for further publications?
I'd love to bring out individual member's collections of their poetry or prose. But that all depends on money and funding.

What's next for you? And for id on tyne?
I'm glad you've asked these questions because I am Sheree Mack, and I am separate from identity on tyne! Sometimes people find that hard to believe. That's why during this month I have tried desperately not to read on our tour of libraries and left the space for the members of identity on tyne and our special guests. During the month I have tried to do my own thing. For example, I read with the Poetry Vandals at the beginning of the month. I was poet in residence for the Durham Literature festival etc.

So when you ask what am I planning to do in the future, well it all involves my PhD in black British women's poetry with my own creations being part of that. I used to teach but now I'm interested in becoming an expert in my field of literature to lecture and write.

identity on tyne will be hosting a special writing weekend in November for BME women. We are also talking to a number of organisations with the aim of getting writers in residence up and running. We will continue to meet each month and share our work. This is all in the short term – longer term, well you'll have to wait and see.

A Taste of Liquorice can be brought from the identity on tyne website or from dogeater.
In Full Colour, The Bookseller's report on cultural diversity in book publishing today, can be read at the magazine's website.