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  • Five Things I Learnt About Life and Death from the Extraordinary New Film Late Shift

    I watched Late Shift (Heldin) at the Alnwick Playhouse and left feeling that everyone in the audience had witnessed life and death together. The film follows Floria, a nurse on the night shift in a Swiss hospital, navigating impossible workloads, patients in pain, angry relatives, and small flashes of compassion. It is both realistic and mythic, a kind of modern Inferno. The film made me reflect on how much we ask of nurses, how dying can be managed well or badly, and how much society needs to decide what we truly want to fund in healthcare. Dignity at 3 a.m. should be a public right, not a private upgrade. Read the full blog on my site: www.francisgilbert.co.uk

  • Five Things I Learned from watching Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon

    Sitting with my 25-year-old son in the Duke of York’s cinema in Brighton, I was transported back to my student days in the 1980s. Watching Barry Lyndon together felt like a full-circle moment. We stayed near Devil’s Dyke, walking its chalk slopes in the evening light, and the film seemed to seep into the landscape around us. I wrote this piece because Kubrick’s film isn’t simply a costume drama, it is a meditation on history, art, and how human life is staged by ritual and chance. Seeing it again reminded me of my tutor at Sussex, John Barrell, whose teaching showed me that people of the 18th century were not “modern” subjects but beings shaped by poverty, class, and tradition. The film captures that difference with extraordinary precision. Revisiting it with my son was moving. He was as mesmerised as I was, proof that cinema can still speak across generations. Writing the blog was my way of reflecting on how light, landscape, and ritual still shape the way we see ourselves.

  • Seven Things I Learnt from Land of the Free? Trump’s War on Press, Protest and Academic Freedom

    What does freedom of expression really mean in 2025? On August 5th, I attended a deeply thought-provoking event hosted by Index on Censorship at St John’s Church, Waterloo, where my wife Erica Wagner was one of the speakers. The panel launched the new Index issue titled Land of the Free? and gathered journalists, editors, and activists to reflect on Donald Trump’s legacy and the erosion of civil liberties across the US and UK. From SLAPP lawsuits to the criminalisation of protest, the conversation reminded us that freedom is not a given: it must be defended, questioned, and collectively sustained. This blog distils seven key lessons I took away from the night, ranging from the legacy of the War on Terror to the global assault on so-called “woke” values. #FreedomOfExpression #IndexOnCensorship #LandOfTheFree #ProtestRights #SLAPPs #CultureWars #Democracy #WritersLife #PoliticalWriting #CreativeNonfiction #EricaWagner #FrancisGilbert #HumanRights #SpeakUp #UKPolitics #USPolitics

  • Seven Things Every Parent Should Know About Teachers and Their Children’s Learning

    As a teacher, parent, and author of The Mindful English Teacher, I have seen first-hand how much pressure modern education places on families, and how little space there often is for listening, creativity, and emotional understanding. I created this podcast and companion blog to open up a more compassionate conversation between parents and teachers. Speaking with Yundie Fei, a brilliant former student of mine and now an educator working closely with Chinese families, helped me reflect on how deeply similar our experiences are across cultures. We both see the anxiety, the over-scheduling, and the miscommunication; and we both believe things can change. This is for any parent who has ever worried their child is “falling behind,” questioned a teacher’s methods, or wondered how best to support learning at home. I hope it brings reassurance, insight, and perhaps even a sense of relief: you are not alone, and there is a gentler, more mindful way forward.

  • Five Things Caves Can Teach Us About Our Lives on the Surface of Things

    This summer I descended into the Postojna caves in Slovenia and came back with more than just photos. I wrote a poem and a reflection on what caves can teach us about the surface of our lives: about time, silence, the unconscious, and the power of slowness. From Plato’s shadows to Blake’s infernos, from Freud’s depths to Fingal’s Cave, this blog explores how caves have always shaped our stories and our inner worlds. A piece for anyone drawn to the poetic, the meditative, and the quietly transformative. If you’re reading this on Instagram, the link won’t work here; please paste it into your browser or visit www.francisgilbert.co.uk

  • Seven Things I Learnt from The Ballad of Wallis Island

    I wrote this blog in response to The Ballad of Wallis Island, a quietly beautiful film that spoke to something deep in me, as a writer, teacher, and person drawn to stories of retreat and reckoning. Watching it reminded me that we all carry a kind of island within us: a place where our creative selves, our ghosts, our pasts and possibilities gather. The film’s setting, tone, and themes of faded fame, broken love, and slow healing made me reflect on what happens when we stop performing and start listening; to others, and to ourselves. That inner island became a metaphor I couldn’t shake. The blog explores this in depth, ending with a poem and a creative visualisation for those wanting to travel inward themselves. Writing it helped me rediscover a part of my own creative practice. I hope it does something similar for you. If you’re reading this on Instagram, please paste the link into your browser to access the full piece at www.francisgilbert.co.uk

  • Five Things I Learned from Exploring Migration Through Art, Drama and Story

    “We are all migrants.” That powerful statement opened a transformative Community Day at Goldsmiths on 12 July 2025, part of the Migration Stories project, led by Professor Bulent Gokay, Susan Moffat, and Professor Farzana Shain, and co-hosted by the Migrant Futures Institute and the New Vic’s Borderlines team. I wrote this blog because the workshop moved me deeply, both as an educator and as a human being. It reminded me of the power of creativity, collaboration, and storytelling to make sense of migration as a lived, emotional reality, not just a political issue. I wanted to capture and share the spirit of the day. Through drama, collage, poetry, and play, participants of all ages explored migration as both a personal journey and a shared global condition. We reflected on our names, built imaginary shelters, embodied exclusion, and created powerful responses to the question of what “home” means. The collective reading of The Day the War Came by Nicola Davies brought everything together in a moving final act of shared expression. 📩 Read the blog and register for future events: https://forms.office.com/e/4CtZdN7ZSA #MigrationStories #Goldsmiths #Borderlines #MigrantFutures #CreativeResistance #WeAreAllMigrants

  • Five Ways Arts Practice Can Facilitate Social Change

    🎙️ I wrote this blog and recorded this Mindful Learning Podcast episode because I believe the arts are a powerful, often overlooked force for real social change. In conversation with Dr Miranda Matthews, we explore how creative practice can help us respond to the climate crisis, amplify marginalised voices, and transform education from the ground up. We talk about art as participation, not performance; about murals in schools and selkie suits in seal sanctuaries; and about how storytelling and small actions ripple outwards. 🖼️ This one’s for teachers, artists, students—and anyone wondering how creativity can make a difference. 👉 Read the blog and listen to the podcast: https://www.francisgilbert.co.uk/2025/07/five-ways-arts-practice-can-facilitate-social-change If you’re reading this on Instagram, please paste the link into your browser to access the full article and audio. #MindfulLearningPodcast #ArtsForChange #CreativeEducation #FrancisGilbert #MirandaMatthews #EcologiesInPractice #Goldsmiths #ArtsAndLearning #ClimateJustice #CriticalPedagogy #StoryOfChange

  • What Kind of School Parent Are You?

    🦒🦊🐆 What kind of parent are you when it comes to your child’s education? I’ve spent decades working in education, as a teacher, author, and now as Dr Francis Gilbert, Head of Education at Goldsmiths, University of London. I’ve written two books for parents about navigating schools, Parent Power and Working the System, and while they’re over a decade old, revisiting them recently reminded me how little has changed. The system is still confusing. The stakes are still high. And parents are still left feeling overwhelmed by league tables, playground gossip, and hidden admissions rules. That’s why I’ve created this quiz. It’s short, fun—and surprisingly revealing. You’ll discover your instinctive parenting style when it comes to education. Are you a Giraffe? A Fox? A Wildebeest? Each result comes with advice you can actually use. 🎯 It’s more timely than ever—because your approach as a parent really does shape your child’s experience at school. 📥 Take the quiz and download the free printable version from my website. 👉 If you’re reading this on Instagram, you’ll need to paste the link into your browser to access the full article and quiz. #Parenting #SchoolAdmissions #EducationMatters #ParentPower #FrancisGilbert #Goldsmiths

  • Eight Transformative Moments from Our Reciprocal Teaching Day at Goldsmiths

    🖋️ “It didn’t have to be clever. It just had to be true.” At a recent MA Creative Writing and Education sharing day, alumna Maryam Ahmadi led a powerful storytelling session exploring how fables can carry emotional and moral truths that essays and arguments often can’t. The bold linocut-style image here captures the spirit of the session: a teacher and group of students surrounded by symbols of learning and connection—a heart, a lightbulb, a book, and leaves. A chalkboard shows the simplest of equations: 1 + 1, reminding us that real learning is reciprocal. When we share stories, we’re not just transmitting knowledge—we’re transforming one another. Maryam began by reading Patrick and Flippa, a deceptively gentle children’s book about a lonely polar bear and a persistent penguin. The group then wrote their own fables, revealing themes of exile, regeneration, defiance, and hope. One participant wrote about a deer who could only speak in questions. Another told of a fish who forgot how to swim in clean water. These were not writing exercises. They were acts of quiet truth-telling. 💡 As one attendee put it: “It’s easier to say something difficult through the story of a fox. You get closer without flinching.” 📚 This workshop was part of the MA in Creative Writing and Education at Goldsmiths, University of London—a unique programme where writers become educators, and educators deepen their creative practice. 🔗 Find out about the MA: www.gold.ac.uk/pg/ma-creative-writing-education/ #MACreativeWritingAndEducation #GoldsmithsUniversity #StorytellingAsPedagogy #MindfulTeaching #Fables #CreativeWritingWorkshop #WritingToHeal #WritingToLearn #RadicalPedagogy #TeacherWriter #ReciprocalLearning

  • Six Things The Salt Path Can Teach Us About Publishing, Truth, and the Power of Memoir

    I wrote this blog after reflecting on The Salt Path by Raynor Winn and its powerful impact, not just as a personal story, but as a case study in how publishing shapes truth, healing, and cultural desire. Drawing on over a decade of teaching creative writing and publishing, I explore what the book teaches us about agents, editors, marketing, and the ethics of memoir. 👣 Who decides what gets published—and how truth is framed? 📚 Why do memoirs like this resonate so deeply? 🧭 What role does publishing play in offering hope or illusion? 🔗 Read the full post here: https://www.francisgilbert.co.uk/2025/07/six-things-the-salt-path-can-teach-us-about-publishing-truth-and-the-power-of-memoir/ #TheSaltPath #RaynorWinn #PublishingEthics #CreativeWriting #Memoir #Pedagogy #WritingLife #FrancisGilbert #Goldsmiths

  • How Much Truth Is Enough? Reflecting on Raynor Winn’s Response to The Observer

    What happens when the story you loved starts to shift? In this piece, I explore Raynor Winn’s recent public defence of The Salt Path—a statement both moving and evasive. While condemning the abuse Winn has received, the article interrogates what her response reveals (and conceals) about the ethics of memoir. Did the omissions distort the truth? What kind of trust do memoirists owe their readers? And when real-life complexities surface, do they deepen a story—or destabilise it? This isn’t about cancellation—it’s about accountability, narrative framing, and the quiet power of what’s left unsaid. #MemoirEthics #RaynorWinn #TheSaltPath #NarrativeTruth #LifeWriting #CreativeNonfiction #MindfulWriting #EthicalStorytelling #WritingCommunity

  • Ten Ethical Complexities of Memoir: After The Salt Path, and Two Decades After My Own

    In my last post, I explored Thirteen Ways of Looking at The Salt Path. This follow-up dives deeper. Raynor Winn’s The Salt Path moved many. But recent reporting has raised ethical questions about omission, accountability, and the seduction of “emotional truth.” What are the responsibilities of the memoirist—especially when their story brings them sympathy, sales, or status? In this new article, I reflect on my own memoir—and what I got wrong. I explore what I’ve learned as a writer, teacher, and mentor of emerging voices on the MA in Creative Writing and Education at Goldsmiths. 🧭 Memoir is a journey, not a monument. 🕊️ Truth needs ethics, not just emotion. 🌊 The Salt Path leads us to difficult but necessary questions. 🔗 Link in bio/comments #MemoirMatters #EmotionalTruth #CreativeWriting #TheSaltPath #EthicalWriting #FrancisGilbert #WritersOfInstagram #NonFictionNarratives #GoldsmithsWriters

  • Five Reasons Why Mindfulness and Creative Writing Weave Together Well

    What happens when we stop judging our writing—and simply listen? In this new blog post, I reflect on a recent workshop where writers used mindfulness to unlock voice, memory, and emotion. Together we explored how freewriting, object meditation, and mindful noticing can transform both what we write and how we feel about writing. Participants wrote about lipstick, tissue packets, Kindles—and discovered surprising characters, deep emotional truths, and stories of presence, loss, and joy. These moments reminded us that mindfulness is not about calming down—it’s about showing up. Drawing on my book The Mindful Creative Writing Teacher (Gilbert, 2025) and C. T. McCaw’s concept of “thick mindfulness,” I share five practical and poetic takeaways from the session. If you teach, write, or are simply curious about the link between awareness and creativity, this one’s for you. 💡 Read now and see how mindful writing can be radically freeing. #MindfulWriting #CreativeWritingTeacher #Freewriting #MindfulnessInEducation #WritersOfInstagram #AmWriting #WritingWorkshop #GoldsmithsUniversity #FrancisGilbert #WritingPrompt #MindfulLiving

  • Thirteen Ways of Looking at The Salt Path After the Truth Came Out

    I wrote this blog because, like so many readers, I had been profoundly moved by The Salt Path and felt shocked and saddened by the revelations in The Observer’s investigation. My piece, Thirteen Ways of Looking at The Salt Path, reflects the emotional complexity of this moment. It explores how we process betrayal, how beauty can be real even when built on broken foundations, and how storytelling must be held to ethical account. This is not a takedown. It is not an attempt to erase what people found meaningful in Sally and Tim Walker’s journey. Instead, it is an invitation to hold the story up to the light and examine its layers. I use the structure of Wallace Stevens’ poem Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird to acknowledge the many truths that can coexist, and the importance of distinguishing between them. This is a moment for honesty in publishing, compassion for those misled, and responsibility for those harmed. It is also a call for readers, writers, and teachers to think more deeply about what it means to tell the truth. I hope this blog opens a space for reflection and dialogue, about literature, justice, and the real salt of life.

  • Five Hidden Truths About Parenting Support , and How To Find Help That Actually Works

    I wrote this blog because so many parents still aren’t getting the support they need. As the author of Parent Power and Working the System, and a long-time advocate for families, I’ve seen just how powerful parenting support can be — when it’s done well. Too often, the help that really works is hidden behind jargon, red tape, or lack of publicity. And too many families are being offered programmes that aren’t backed by evidence. Inspired by Nesta’s 2025 report Parenting Support at Scale, I’ve written a practical, no-nonsense blog to help parents navigate what’s out there — and how to find what actually works. In the blog, I break down five key findings every parent should know, from the benefits of structured programmes like Triple P and Incredible Years to free online tools like Tiny Happy People. I’ve included links to trusted websites, tips on what to ask for, and suggestions for getting tailored support. Please share this with any parents or carers who might need a bit of guidance, or who don’t know where to start. #ParentingSupport #ParentPower #MindfulParenting #TripleP #IncredibleYears #Nesta #FamilyHelp #EarlyYears

  • Why English Teaching Still Matters: Insights from the 2025 NATE Conference

    What does it mean to teach English with creativity, care, and courage in 2025? At this year’s NATE (National Association for the Teaching of English) conference, I joined a passionate group of teachers, academics, publishers, and educational innovators, some seasoned, others just starting out, to explore that very question. In this new blog post, I reflect on five powerful lessons from a day filled with poetic metaphors, Generation Alpha pedagogy, and mindful creative writing. From Clare Lawrence’s unforgettable lentil metaphor, to conversations about inclusive teaching for a post-2010 cohort, to the joyful solidarity of English educators nationwide: this was a conference where research met emotion, and practice met possibility. I also had the pleasure of leading a mindful creative writing workshop, inspired by my book The Mindful Creative Writing Teacher (Gilbert, 2025), and saw first-hand how freeing and transformative creative writing can be when rooted in reflection rather than performance. If you care about teaching English in ways that centre imagination, identity, and student voice, and want to explore this further, take a look at our MA in Creative Writing and Education at Goldsmiths. 🔗 MA info: https://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/ma-creative-writing-education/ #MindfulWriting #NATE2025 #CreativePedagogy #EnglishTeachers #TeacherCommunity #FrancisGilbert #MindfulCreativeWritingTeacher

  • Five Things We Can Learn from Faking Hitler: Lies, Truth, and the Seduction of Fiction

    I wrote this piece after finishing Faking Hitler, the German drama now streaming on Channel 4. It’s a gripping, ironic, and surprisingly funny retelling of the Hitler Diaries scandal, a real event where forged Nazi documents were sold to Stern magazine in the 1980s. What drew me in wasn’t just the slick production or the fascinating story, but the deeper questions the series raises about truth, memory, and the fictions we choose to believe. This drama isn’t just about a historical hoax; it’s about our relationship with the past — and how easily we rewrite it. Through sharp writing and unforgettable performances, Faking Hitler explores how trauma, ambition, ideology, and denial can cloud even the sharpest minds. It’s a series that resonates disturbingly with our own times, when truth feels fragile and authoritarian myths resurface in new forms. I wanted to unpack five key takeaways from the show — about journalism, fascism, generational reckoning, and the seductive power of lies. This article is my attempt to make sense of a drama that is as psychologically rich as it is entertaining. If you’re interested in truth, fiction, or the strange space in between, read on. #FakingHitler #Channel4 #MediaEthics #Fascism #TruthAndFiction #BlogPost #CriticalMediaLiteracy #CreativeNonfiction #HistoricalDrama #MindfulMedia

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