Making writers: more writing than welding

The learning trajectories of working class writers reveals the importance of informal opportunities to write in workshops within a spirit of solidarity and equality. Many aspects of working class life supported writing. Workshops provided a vital means of stimulating and supporting the aspiring writer, including domestic life, sympathetic individuals as well as participation in labour movement struggles. Writers started to read critically and share their work with a view to making significant improvements. Some writers received structured support from cultural organisations and went on to achieve considerable success. Personal changes could be both gradual and climactic although the obstacles, both internal and external, were ever-present.