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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Photo Blog
29 March 2016Cover to Cover: Literary London
View Photo BlogDiscover the best places for a book lover to visit in the capital.
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Review
11 March 2016Blake Remixed
View ReviewMerging 18th Century poetry with modern hip hop, this performance from rapper and human beatbox Testament is exactly how to integrate different art forms.
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Blog
10 March 2016Five of the best female novelists
View BlogThis Tuesday was International Women's Day, and there are plenty of related events continuing into this weekend. As a lover of all things lit, I decided to pick my top 5 female writers who celebrate women, feminism or gender equality.
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Blog
7 March 2016Ellen's 100 Happy Days
View BlogCould you be happy for 100 days? Maybe just for a moment each day. Ellen Orange shares her story.
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Blog
3 March 2016Literature and mental health: Part 2
View BlogI am now halfway through Warwick University's Literature and Mental Health course on Future Learn and it has been such an interesting experience. We cover one topic per week and so far we have looked at Stress, Heartbreak, and Bereavement.
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Blog
2 March 2016Cover to cover: a tale of two versions
View BlogAdaptations are a dividing force between book fans. Maybe you loved the book and can't bear to see your imagined version ruined, or maybe you are really keen to see your favourite book on the big screen.
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Blog
28 February 2016Bath Literature Festival Big Read
View BlogClaire Fuller talks about her fairy-tale thriller novel Our Endless Numbered Days, this year's Bath Big Read.
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Blog
28 February 2016Bath Literature Festival's 21 best Coming of Age novels
View BlogWhich novel has helped you most as a teenager? How do you define a 'coming of age' novel? Bath Literature looks at the best on offer and why these books work.
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Blog
28 February 2016Creating Suspense at Bath Literature Festival
View BlogI was very excited to hear two 'suspense' novelists talk about the genre of crime and thrillers, the idea of the 'domestic noir' and how they build suspense in their writing.
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Blog
28 February 2016Shakespeare Gala at Bath Literature Festival
View BlogA fun and original collection of Shakesperian performances and interpretations.
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Blog
28 February 2016Poetry Salon: Tim Liardet and Rebecca Perry at Bath Literature Festival
View BlogTwo TS Eliot prize nominated poets read from their work, discuss their poetry and the current scene.
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Blog
28 February 2016The Independent Great British Popular Culture Debate
View BlogIs British popular culture the best in the world? I heard four leading names from the arts and culture scene battle it out over whether we can lay claim to this.
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Blog
27 February 2016DJ Taylor's The Prose Factory at Bath Literature Festival
View BlogDJ Taylor explores the history of literary culture the subject of his new book in an engaging and accessible way.
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Blog
27 February 2016Ask a Literary Consultant at Bath Literature Festival
View BlogHave you ever wondered just how you break into the industry? What do you need to do? What kind of book do publishers want? Literary consultant Helen Bryant can answer all your questions...
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Blog
27 February 2016Sebastian Faulks at Bath Literature Festival
View BlogSebastian Faulks gives a rare insight into his life and work, as well as his most recent book Where My Heart Used to Beat.
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Blog
27 February 2016Pat Barker's Noonday at Bath Literature Festival
View BlogI went to the opening talk at Bath Literature festival to hear acclaimed author Pat Barker talk about her work and her new novel.
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Feature
16 February 2016Ten books that changed the world
View FeatureThis year we are looking at how art can change the world, and literature's no exception.
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Blog
15 February 2016Can literature improve our mental wellbeing?: Part 1
View BlogThe University of Warwick has developed an online course investigating the relationship between literature and mental health. Their research looks particularly at whether literature can be used therapeutically to improve our mental wellbeing.
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'.