Researching Writing Lives- Jim Ingram (b.1912)

I have thoroughly enjoyed researching Jim Ingram’s life and being able to write about it whilst taking the Writing Lives module. The process of exploring another person’s life and trying to express their feelings and opinions through my own blog has been extremely inspiring. Jim Ingram’s memoir has allowed me insight into living as a child during World War 1 and how it impacted both his own family life but more generally the working class society as a whole. Ingram reveals the loss of a relationship he suffered with his father as a consequence of the war. Jim was one of many children who will have suffered this same loss however it touched closer to home reading about it from a first person perspective. Ingram’s memoir also allowed me to explore the difficulty he had dealing with disability and illness as a child and how it carried on through to his adult life. The way he deals with it is truly inspiring as he never allows the bad things that have happened to him get in the way of his passion for bettering himself and other people.

The module has allowed me the enjoyment of learning about someone else’s life during a completely different time and society to my own which is an eye opening experience. This has been the most enjoyable part of joining in with the Writing Lives Collaborative. It has also given me valuable skills that I will be able to use in other modules I have chosen such as researching and using secondary sources correctly and more effectively. I have also developed the skill of making sure to capture the tone of my author’s memoir accurately which can be transferred to essay writing about other texts. It has also given me the starting skills and confidence needed to create my own blog such as the best websites to use, layout and the timing of each blog for example posting regularly to keep the audience interested and aware. I am also more confident in promoting work on social media and have learnt how influential this can be for a blog.

After taking part in the Writing Lives Project I will definitely consider starting my own blog and might continue to research the lives of working class people as I found it extremely interesting and inspiring.