I’m a German native speaker writing in both German and English. I came across Writing Room in 2015, when I was looking for a creative writing course near me. At the time, I worked as a freelance creative pattern cutter for fashion design studios in London and off-season I took on projects as a German language copywriter and EN>DE translator. I wanted to find a creative writing class near me to help me keep the playful side of writing alive. I was also keen to meet new people with similar creative interests and to see if I could find a writing community even as a non-native writer.
I took part in three of Jehane Markham’s poetry courses (2015 and 2016) and in Giovanna Iozzi‘s Short Fiction in Focus course (2016). Challenging my fears around speaking in front of groups I even read my poetry in the Student Showcases. The positive feedback and inspiration I found in this community of poets and writers drove me to engage also with other creative writing and open mic opportunities in London: I went to and read at the Open Mic at the Poetry Café. I took part in the Poetry Masterclass run by Daljit Nagra at the Open Mic in Harrow, where I read, too. At this event I meet people from the Manor Farm Library Poetry Group and was invited to join them. And a friend of mine asked me to write his thoughts into a free-verse poem for two voices and we turned it into a script and eventually a short film called “Bedtime”. So overall the Writing Room creative writing courses were just the spark I needed at the time to dedicate time to my writing, to take it more seriously and to connect with other writers.
When I moved back to Germany to exit ahead of Brexit, the writing community was one of the main things I missed, especially since I kept writing mostly in English. Staying in touch with several people from the London creative writing groups and courses, I was thrilled to find out that there were now Writing Room online courses, and that I could participate from wherever I was. So I signed up for Sita Brachmani’s Write into Childhood course (2021), and most recently, for Paul Lyall’s Finding the Poem course (2022).
I’m now a full-time freelance writer based in Germany, copywriting in German or translating and ”transcreating” marketing copy from English to German for SMEs and creatives who want to win new customers or an audience in the German-speaking market. My focus is on long copy, websites and blog articles. I also work in audiovisual translation (subtitle translation) and have just finished my first few projects as a dubbing script writer (lip sync adaptation).
If you’d like to know more, please visit: https://www.annewanders.com/
My book, “Slow Fashion”, is currently out of print but can be found second-hand – more information here: https://www.niggli.ch/en/produkt/anne-theresia-wanders-slow-fashion-2/
Two poems
Thank you
A good night’s sleep
An old fear not manifested
Breakfast with a view
Wet snow tumbling heavily, teased by spring
Friendly smiles and a warm greeting
Being free to learn Italian
Understanding theatre a bit better
Having a friend to call
People asking my guidance
Me saying: No.
Me saying: Later.
Me asking for help.
Me having just a little faith that I
could keep my nerve while keeping my heart open.
Me being scared and
inviting the fear to come slowly: Let me learn.
Tomatoes (in May)
Four weeks ago I started
growing tomatoes.
I bought my favourite ones
and squeezed out the seedy pulp.
The pulp rested in a glass
for days, until mould formed.
It’s healthy mould to strengthen
the seed, to embrace decay
but not too much, it
needs rinsing off eventually.
I was not overly optimistic
so I put several seeds
in tiny glass dishes
filled with soil and
almost drowned them all.
Three dishes surprised
me with shoots one day,
I swear they grew
from nothing to an inch overnight
but maybe I had not looked.
One dish remained moist
and mouldy without shoots.
Three days ago, I felt sorry
for the crammed conditions
and re-potted the seedlings,
now two inches tall.
Talking to them, or myself,
I pried their roots apart, Let go,
I told them, you’ll be close
but you need more space.
The trick worked.
Today I had to re-pot them
again, that little space
was already taken,
I’m amazed to report they
grew another inch overnight.
Even the mouldy dish
shows off five sprouts.
My pessimistic strategy
of sowing about twenty seeds
when I only wanted one plant,
assuming most would die
now has me buying
more soil, more pots.
My windowsill has been
taken over by tomato shoots.
Is this how farms start,
with fertile accidents getting out of hand?
I should give myself more credit
but I’m getting ahead of myself.
They might yet die.
They might not bear.
This is an exercise in embracing decay,
to keep nurturing anyway.
