Lelia Ferro is a poet from Wivenhoe in Essex who has made an impact in the county with her innovative writing methods where she uses interviews and workshops with local people as the basis for narratives which challenge the ‘Essex Girl’ and ‘Essex Boy’ stereotypes. She was previously Writer in Residence for Colchester’s Firstsite Gallery, where she worked with Colchester and Ipswich Museums and a
broad range of the community in order to bring to life artefacts from the museum archives, displayed during the Wunderkammer Exhibition. She is also currently Poet in Residence for Essex County Council’s project, ‘Snapping The Stiletto’ where she works with communities and the museums to retell the stories of Essex women from over the past 100 years. Lelia will be living and working at Metal Culture in Southend during the summer of 2019. Previously Lelia studied for a Masters degree in Creative Writing at the University of Essex for which she was awarded a distinction. Prior to this she completed postgraduate studies in Psychodynamic Approaches, and also a Masters degree in Journalism, receiving distinctions in both fields. Her methodologies pull together all her academic experience to date, as well as her experiences working at Channel 4, and for other leading media companies. In her approach she uses a technique which she defines as ‘embodiment’ likened to the psychodynamic ‘transference’, as well as ‘free association’, and journalistic ethical frameworks. If you would like to meet Lelia and take part in her community workshops and PhD research examining ‘How We Live in Essex’, please contact [email protected]
