Behind Many Doors: Writing from Whitchurch Psychiatric Hospital
A vivid and revealing portrait of an Edwardian psychiatric hospital, created by those who know it most intimately
Tuesday 4 November, 7.00 pm on the Glanfa Stage, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay
Join Literature Wales on Tuesday 4 November for the launch of Behind Many Doors, an anthology of writing produced as part of The Whitchurch Project – a creative writing project marking the forthcoming closure of Whitchurch Psychiatric Hospital in north Cardiff. Sometimes shocking, often moving, always illuminating, this collection of writing will compel all those who turn its pages to think anew about the mental healthcare of the past and the future and to look again at a building that has impacted upon the lives of so many.
The Whitchurch Project was administered by Literature Wales, and led by writer and historian, Phil Carradice and writer and workshop facilitator, Briony Goffin. With Whitchurch Hospital’s closure on the horizon, the project was designed to give all those who have had a relationship with the hospital the opportunity to explore and express their experiences through creative writing.
Behind Many Doors is just a selection of the work that grew out of workshops, one-to-one writing sessions, interviews, as well as individual submissions. It is a vivid and revealing portrait of an Edwardian psychiatric hospital in Cardiff, created by those who know it most intimately. This unique anthology seeks to capture, preserve and shine a light on what Whitchurch Hospital has meant and still means to service users, staff members, visitors, carers and members of the local community across its long and complex history.
In her foreword to the anthology Briony Goffin said: “Sometimes psychiatric hospitals feel like secret worlds, enshrouded in mystery and rumour, regarded with trepidation; particularly those old redbrick institutions – the iconic gothic structure, beheld from afar, set alone amidst sweeping grounds and broad mature trees. The Whitchurch Creative Writing Project sought to shine light on that world… Together, these writers have produced a meaningful and moving legacy that not only offers intimate, historical insight into a particular world but could even assist in the way we think about the nature of hospitals, psychiatry, and the provision of holistic mental healthcare in the future.”
The anthology will be launched at a special event on Tuesday 4 November at 7.00 pm on the Glanfa Stage, Wales Millennium Centre, in the company of Phil Carradice and Briony Goffin and with readings from some of the contributors.
For further information, contact Literature Wales on: 029 2047 2266 / post@literaturewales.org.
Free event, all welcome.
Copies of Behind Many Doors will be available to buy at the launch event and afterwards from Literature Wales. All proceeds raised from the book with go back into literary projects in the fields of metal health and writing for wellbeing.
Thanks to Hollie from Llenyddiaeth Cymru/Literature Wales for this post
