Sara Louise Wheeler is originally from Wrecsam in north-east Wales, and she now lives on the Wirral peninsula in the north-west of England (2.7 miles from the border); Sara is actively engaged in the literary and creative scenes in this region on both sides of the border, and she enjoys exploring the unique character and culture of the borderlands and considering how this continues to shape her creative practice.
Sara has Waardenburg Syndrome Type 1, dyslexia, and a variety of health issues resulting from febrile convulsions; however, Sara draws inspiration from these challenges and is currently reflecting on her experiences through a plethora of creative mediums, including poetry, belles lettres, and visual arts.
Sara writes the column ‘O’r gororau’ (from the borders) for Barddas Welsh poetry magazine. She is also currently preparing ‘Y Dywysoges Arian’ (The Silver Princess) for Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru; this is a trilingual bildungsroman opera/ ballet about her experiences of WST1.
Sara’s work has been showcased in a variety of forums including: Fahmidan Journal, Dark Poets Club, Gŵyl y ferch, and 3am Magazine; her dystopian monolog ‘Y Siambr Bodhyfryd’ was recently broadcast by BBC Radio Cymru as part of a fiction series on climate change. Sara is currently exploring possible intersections and cross-pollination between cynghanedd and sign language poetry and other forms of transdisciplinary arts.
In 2020 Sara created ‘Gwasg y Gororau’ (Borders Press) and published some of her own creative work as free to download PDFs, including: Y ras i gynganeddu/ The race to cynganeddu (a bilingual poetry pamphlet); ‘Rwdlan a Bwhwman’ (her first collection of Welsh poetry); and ‘Llyfr Lloffion Bardd y mis/ Poet of the Month scrap book’ (a bilingual collection from her time as ‘Bardd y mis’ for Barddas/ BBC Radio Cymru, January 2021). Sara is currently preparing two new bilingual poetry collections, ‘Confylsiwn/ Convulsion’ and ‘Cwilt Clytwaith Goareig/ A Goareig Patchwork Quilt’; these will be published as kindle books and will be available to buy in 2022.
Sara is interested in hearing from others interested in developing the press further and in establishing a bilingual magazine called ‘Ffiniau’, which would publish material from the borderlands, and also about marginal experiences, including rare genetic conditions and illnesses. The aim would be to challenge conventional ideas by platforming work which might have difficulty finding a home elsewhere.
