Anne-Marie Glasheen - literary translator, writer, poet and photographer

Life being what it is, I have, over the years, had several incarnations. But my great passion for the Arts has remained constant. Up until recently I worked as a literary translator – translating novels, drama, poetry and art history from French to English. The nearer I got to turning 60 however, the stronger and more urgent my need to return to, explore and develop the creative activities begun in my teens – poetry and photography.

In 2002 I started to look after one of my granddaughters. It was a turning point in my life, an opportunity to reflect on what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Together we went for walks in Nunhead cemetery, a beautiful spot in southeast London. We searched for statues of angels and found them in the strangest of places and in various stages of disintegration. Out of our visits grew my first collection of interrelated images and poems.

Always a keen photographer and fascinated by the naturally occurring abstractions of nature; digital photography and the computer have enable me to experiment with the many different ways of translating the reality of the captured image into the unreality or ‘surreality’ of the manipulated image. Many of these ‘visions’ are inextricably linked to the themes and symbology at the heart of my poetry. I see my images as ‘visual poems’ and often combine image and word (English and French to reflect my dual heritage) in my photographic montages.

My poetry and images have appeared in Equinox, Fire, Running Water, Second Light, Orbis and Pentagraph Press; as well as in Belgium, France, Ireland and Luxembourg. In March 2003 my first collection of photographic images and poetry: Walking With Angels – inspired by my walks with my granddaughter – was exhibited in Peckham Library where I am a regular performer. In 2004 I became a member of the Nunhead-based Surgery group of artists and had two very successful solo exhibitions. Since then, I haven’t looked back.