Writer in Residence

In September 2005 Jeanne Ellin was appointed to the post of Writer in Residence, working primarily at Roxburghe House, Aberdeen.

Jeanne’s remit is wide and varied but mainly focussed on the use of writing and conversation to engage and assist patients, relatives and staff at Roxburghe House to express their own narratives, both written and spoken.

This has been a busy and stimulating year discovering just where a writer can be useful within such a busy clinical setting.  I wanted to be a resource and offer a creative perspective throughout Roxburghe House and within Aberdeen Royal Infirmary to a more limited extent.  This has been reflected in work that ranged from offering creative exercises during a seminar for chaplains within Grampian to committees for Art in Hospitals, from bereavement literature to developing a training game with the education department.  I have also helped to script a training video made for medical students. 

In my role as Writer in Residence I have written for and with a range of individuals and worked with staff and patients on developing their own writing.  In partnership with Kathy Kindness, Psychologist, and an Oncology Nurse I have developed image work which could be used with patients whose verbal skills may have been compromised.

GHAT’s outreach project enabled me to work with WEA students who had difficulty accessing mainstream classes.  I have been involved with exhibition openings in the GHAT Gallery and have performed in Word – University of Aberdeen Writers Festival.  Next year promises to be even fuller and I look forward to it.

Jeanne Ellin
Writer in Residence

The Writer in Residence is supported by the Friends of Roxburghe House.