Ellen Orange Contributor Gold
I am a 24 year old Marketing Officer from the North East with a passion for arts and writing. I did a BA in English Literature and an MA in Twentieth and Twenty First Century Literature at Durham University, because I love books and reading! I have experience in writing for a variety of student publications, as well as having contributed to Living North, a regional magazine and Culture magazine, a supplement to regional newspaper, The Journal. I have been part of a Young Journalists scheme writing for NewcastleGateshead's Juice Festival, a young people's arts and culture festival, and have since become a Team Juice member. As well as reading and writing, I love theatre, photography and crafts.
- 185 Posts
- 9 Comments
Your profile shows every post you’ve published on Voice. You can also curate posts into a portfolio collection in the admin area then click 'View portfolio’ above to see the portfolio.
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Blog
4 August 2016Scandinavian Noir sets the bar for UK and US culture
View BlogThe rise of Scandinavian Noir in popular culture has seriously influenced UK and American TV and novel writing
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Blog
27 July 2016Cover to cover: How to make the best summer reading list
View BlogEvery summer there are hundreds of lists of recommended summer reads, or perfect books for the beach. While I love a good recommendation, I also like making my own summer books bucket list.
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Blog
26 July 2016Literary Madrid
View BlogFollowing the news that Britain voted to leave the EU Ellen Orange takes a look at Europe's literary treasures.
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Blog
22 July 2016My creative past: Ellen Orange
View BlogVoice Reporter Ellen Orange, who is about to finish a Literature masters at Durham University, discusses the path she's taken so far.
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Review
20 July 2016A Midsummer Night's Dream: A Play for the Nation
View ReviewRSC's touring, British golden age update of Shakespeare's classic hits the right notes, and has some unexpected subtitles.
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Blog
12 July 2016Literary Paris
View BlogFollowing the news that Britain voted to leave the EU Ellen Orange takes a look at Europe's literary treasures.
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Blog
23 June 2016What has the EU done for British arts?
View BlogThere has been a lot of talk about different aspects of the EU referendum: the economy, immigration and trade being the big talking points, but what impact does the EU have on arts and culture?
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Review
13 June 2016Crime Story
View ReviewReading or writing about murder? Ellen Orange visited the perfect festival for budding literary detectives.
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Blog
7 June 2016Is literature more accessible now than ever?
View BlogWith the rise of literature festivals, are we getting closer to, or further from accessible reading?
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Blog
26 May 2016Readers rejoice: there's a new bookworm app in town, and it’s called Litsy!
View BlogDescribed as 'Goodreads meets Instagram', Litsy is more social media focused than the former and unlike the latter, it is exclusively bookish.
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Blog
24 May 2016Cover to Cover: Literary Yorkshire
View BlogInto reading? Then Yorkshire is the place to go. Many times the inspiration for a great novel, the Northern country has also spawned its fair share of terrific British writers. So where can you go to revel in all this glory?
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Review
24 May 2016The Late Shows
View ReviewThe Late Shows are Newcastle's answer to Museums at Night, offering completely free events, aimed at both families and adults, in museums, galleries and art spaces across the city for two nights only in May.
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Blog
12 May 2016Literature and mental health: Part 3
View BlogI'm now a long way into Warwick University's Literature and Mental Health course on Future Learn, and have started to really consider how books could be used on a wider scale. How do we prescribe reading?
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Feature
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Feature
22 April 2016Voice's guide to Shakespeare400
View FeatureIn celebration of Shakespeare400 Ellen Orange brings you some of his best lines and a guide to help you celebrate this week.
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Blog
15 April 2016Tech backlash: the resurgence of film, vinyl and paperbacks
View BlogTechnology has advanced art - for better or worse - at a speedy pace in recent years. But with the recent growth in vinyl sales, and the ongoing trend for film photography, is it really all over for analogue?
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How-to Guide
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Blog
4 April 2016Does the future of book covers lie in animation?
View BlogThe need for a relationship between technology and design has been accepted for a long time, mainly in the category of graphic design. The relationship between technology and art however has often been more controversial.
Latest Comments
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Defending free-speech - and our right to call it out by Ellen Orange -
Sense and Sensitivity by Tom InnissI totally agree on the 'snowflake' front! It frustrates me so much that valid arguments are shot down with the idea that you are just too sensitive. The people who use these terms have clearly never experienced discrimination or oppression, or not enough to appreciate that often us 'snowflakes' are actually fighting to protect basic rights.
Equally I often find that when you call people out for opinions that are racist or sexist, then it becomes your problem for not being inclusive of other people's politics. It frustrates me so much that racism can hide under 'nationalism' as a political stance, and also sexism in the guise of 'religious' views. It seems now that if you try to call these out you get accused 'censoring' people. In my view everyone has their right to an opinion but we absolutely have to right to respond, retaliate and show those ideas for what they are.
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Reading For Wellbeing by Ellen OrangeChecking things out on Goodreads is a great shout, thanks Sam!
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Reading For Wellbeing by Ellen Orange
Thanks for your comment Abhishek! Yeah I think e-readers definitely encouraged more young people into reading, and I love your idea of using a podcast or audiobook! I've started to listen to audiobooks on my commute and actually it is the perfect way to just be in the moment and not think about the stresses of the day.
I don't think anyone would deliberately choose a book that would be detrimental of course, but often we don't know what is in it until we read it which is my only worry as books with serious issues in them, for example abuse, might negatively affect the reader if they are caught off guard. It is also a tough one to control though and I think you are right, we still have to trust readers to make their own decisions.
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Reading For Wellbeing by Ellen Orange
Yeah content is definitely key! Having said that though a big book like Les Mis or Game of Thrones could be perfect if you are reading for escapism? When I'm feeling particularly rubbish I like children's books - Roald Dahl, JK Rowling and Lemony Snicket because they are escapist fantasy, fun, easy to process and feel-good.
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The Good Immigrant, ed. Nikesh Shukla by Bhavesh JadvaI was really keen to read this before but now it's top of my TBR pile! It sounds brilliant!
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Comment posted on 22 March 2017
Books have always been political! The very books people are turning to like 1984 and The Handmaid's Tale were written decades ago in response to the politics of their times. I think it is just more evident to us now as because political positions are getting more extreme, it affects our lives more.
I also think turning to 1984 is interesting because it was originally written in response to Russian totalitarianism - communism rather than fascism or 'alt-right' politics, so slightly ironic that it is being held up as 'liberal' now? It shows that books aren't just words on a page, but also how you read, use and interpret them!
I think the uniting factor is a defence of justice, fairness and true 'democracy' (ie the voice and rights of the people, rather than a political voting system) as opposed to the simplistic delineation of 'left' and 'right'.