Write Out Loud’s David Andrew is taking up a new challenge next month. Our long-standing Gig Guide editor and now board member will be philosopher in residence for a month at a “creative centre” at Stöðvarfjörður, a fishing village (pop. 200) on the east coast of Iceland.

Stöðvarfjörður is 630km from the capital Reykjavik, and after flying to Keflavik international airport, he will take another flight across Iceland from Reykjavik to Egilsstaðir. After that it’s two buses to Stöðvarfjörður.

While there David, who graduated in philosophy at Leeds in 2001, will be working on a topic about environmental concerns with the provisional title ‘The Search for a Future’ – he is a member of both the Green Party and the Green Alliance.  He said: “I’m there to sit down and read, then sit down and write; without interruptions.  What I’m going to deliver is an outline of articles/essays I’ll work on when I get back.”

Will there be much inter-action with the local community? The Here Creative Centre website says that “our residency artists stay together in a big house with a large grown garden in the heart of our small village”. David added:  ”I’ll be there with two other artists. Also, the centre’s website details a permanent team of five – and there are interns. Since it's self-catering, I'll be out and about, assembling the raw materials.”

How did the opportunity come up? He explained: “It all started with a coincidence. I’m on a number of mailing lists, including that of Literature Works. Their website lists opportunities. Intrigued by a photo of Iceland on their home page, I clicked through for more details, and found the ‘Here Centre’. I’d already arranged a poetry residency later this year, in Wales. Since I had a topic to tackle, and am qualified in philosophy, I put it to them I should have my stay, with them, as a philosopher.”

David’s latest collection of poetry, Ventriloquist’s Dummy, was published last year. Would he find time to write poetry while he was in Iceland? He said: “I confess that my preparations for this trip have got in the way of other writing. However, in the last few days, I’ve had the second issue of Sonofabook magazine from CB Editions. In this issue, there are translations of prose poems by Pierre Reverdy. To vary my writing diet while I’m there, I’ll write prose poems, about this thoroughly welcome adventure.”