Following a long career in health care services, Elaine became a mature student at York St John University in 2016. She has since gained a BA (Hons) degree in English Literature & Creative Writing and an MA in Creative Writing.

Elaine has had educational roles for over 25 years. She has worked with Converge, a project at York St John University which offers educational opportunities for people who use mental health services, since 2018. As a Creative Writing tutor, she remains passionate about the power of learning.

Elaine Likes to write: to know, to imagine, and to dream.

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Writing Samples

Dancing till Dawn.

Yesterday whispered a truth to me,  

“It won’t last”. 

I didn’t believe it, why would I? Why would I want to believe it? You see yesterday tasted like sunshine. It tingled and sparkled and held me with a tenderness that reached my very soul. I danced in the light that shone all around me. I swirled so fast it was easy to ignore those words in the corner, 

“It won’t last”. 

“MEMENTO MORI!”  twirl, whirl, unfurl myself completely in its song. I didn’t notice the music change I just danced in time with each new melody. I only wanted to hear that tune, as long as it played, I spun and swayed. I didn’t listen to the words,

“it won’t last”.

The day it stopped I heard new words, 

“It’s over!” 

I kept moving, I grasped at wisps of sound, but the melody was gone. My limbs grew heavy and slow. The light ebbed away. The silence shattered my being. I lumbered through the solitude. Where is the music to keep me warm? Yesterday had told me a truth. I almost retched at the bitterness of my acceptance.

But then a moment approached and whispered to me

  “Stop (…)”. 

I brushed it away. It came again 

“(…) Listen (…)”.

 I shook my head to make it go. 

“Stop, listen, look!”. 

The moment held me, I didn’t resist. I raised myself up. A creeping recognition allowed me to see. Fatigue dripped away and there it was. The day, today, in full motion. My heart in rhythm, with a gentle song, ticked along to the beat of time, faces filled with life moved around me. Clouds meandered in the sky. 

Then I felt the wind, a mother wind, it moved through my hair and caressed my skin. 

Touch (extract)

Our skin is the largest organ of the body. Every part of our body can sense touch with varying levels of sensitivity. Our hands are particularly effective in interacting with the world. They can detect multiple textures, shapes, and temperature. We can use tools, manipulate and interact with objects of all sizes, from the large to the miniscule, rough and smooth, delicate and robust. The hand is widely represented in the brain with several thousand receptors in each finger helping us to explore, manipulate, communicate and interact…

…I can stretch out my hands in the rain and feel alive, then close my eyes and I am wide awake in a sparkling cascade of delicate drops. I reach out to a rough trunk of a tree and feel the gnarled aging surface of the wisdom of an age. I let my palms skim the surface of freshly cut grass with tiny blades brushing the lines of heart and life that deepen over time. I can touch another’s skin to let them know I am there. I can hold a hand, stroke a cheek embrace those I love, all with freedom. the world touches us and we touch back all in the natural way of things. It is not possible to touch without being touched.