Conversations with Writers

Emma Lee was born in South Gloucestershire and now lives in Leicestershire. She is on the committee of Leicester Writers’ Club and the steering group for the Leicester Writers’ Showcase. Her poems, short stories and articles have appeared in many anthologies and magazines. Some of her poems have been been translated into languages that include Chinese, Farsi, German, Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Romanian. Emma Lee co-edited Over Land, Over Sea: Poems for those seeking refuge (Five Leaves Publications, 2015) and Welcome to Leicester (Dahlia Publishing, 2016). She has four poetry collections, The Significance of a Dress (Arachne Press, 2020), Ghosts in the Desert (Indigo Dreams Publishing, 2015), Mimicking a Snowdrop (Thynks, 2014) and Yellow Torchlight and the Blues (Original Plus, 2004). Her latest collection, The Significance of A Dress , has been described as "Poems informed by, and immersed in politics. Whether investigating the lives of refugees, fami...

Emma Lee Emma Lee co-edited Over Land, Over Sea: Poems for those seeking refuge  (Five Leaves Publications, 2015) and is one of the coordinators of Journeys in Translation . She also co-edited Welcome to Leicester  (Dahlia Publishing, 2016) and has three poetry collections, Ghosts in the Desert  (Indigo Dreams Publishing, 2015), Mimicking a Snowdrop  (Thynks, 2014) and Yellow Torchlight and the Blues  (Original Plus, 2004). She reviews for The High Window Journal , The Journal , London Grip and Sabotage Reviews and is currently Vice-President of Leicester Writers' Club . Her poems have been published in the UK, USA, Mexico and South Africa, broadcast on radio and she has performed them at venues such as Leicester City Football Club, Leicester's Guildhall and the Poetry Cafe in London. In this interview Emma Lee talks about her writing and about Journeys in Translation. How would you describe the writing you are currently doing ? In between poetry ...

Leicester is home to some of the most exciting emerging writers in the United Kingdom. One of these is poet, short story writer and novelist Emma Lee, who has had poems nominated in competitions that include the Forward Best Poem Prize. Other poems by Emma Lee have been published in anthologies, magazines and webzines and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 . Her short stories are proving to be just as significant. "Restoration," was runner-up in Writing Magazine's Annual Ghost Story Competition while "First and Last and Always," another of her short stories, is appearing in Extended Play , a new anthology of music-inspired pieces. Emma Lee talked about her concerns as a writer. When did you decide you wanted to be a writer? It chose me. I spent a lot of time alone as a child — I wasn't lonely, it's just a reflection of the circumstances I found myself in — and frequently made up stories as entertainment. Later I filled exercise books writing my stories...