{"id":12972,"date":"2012-11-13T12:25:19","date_gmt":"2012-11-13T12:25:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=12972"},"modified":"2012-11-13T12:25:19","modified_gmt":"2012-11-13T12:25:19","slug":"cardiff-character-christina-thatcher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2012\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-christina-thatcher\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardiff character: Christina Thatcher"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_13256\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"width: 480px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/11\/C-Thatcher.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13256\" title=\"Christina Thatcher\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/11\/C-Thatcher.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"324\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/11\/C-Thatcher.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/11\/C-Thatcher-300x203.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13256\" title=\"Christina Thatcher\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/11\/C-Thatcher.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"324\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/11\/C-Thatcher.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/11\/C-Thatcher-300x203.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Christina is passionate about using creative writing to empower others<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Bright, bubbly and full of energy, the American-born and Cardiff-based Christina Thatcher is convinced that creative writing can be an important means of empowerment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve always had a really strong drive to do what I do,\u201d she says, referring to her multiple roles as writer, researcher and educator. Among other things, she is the leader of the writing programme at <a title=\"The Gate\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thegate.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Gate<\/a>, the writer-in-residence at the <a title=\"Milkwood Gallery\" href=\"http:\/\/www.milkwoodgallery.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Milkwood Gallery<\/a>, the Wales representative for <a title=\"Half Moon\" href=\"http:\/\/www.valleyprojects.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Half Moon<\/a> and the co-facilitator for the Literature Wales <a title=\"Young people's writing squad\" href=\"http:\/\/www.writingsquads.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Young People\u2019s Writing Squad<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Christina also runs two literary open-mic events, <em>Voices of Roath<\/em> and <em>My Words My Voice<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Her main passion lies with working with at-risk youth and children. She has run creative writing workshops from gang-riddled neighbourhoods in Philadelphia to the streets of Merthyr Tydfil.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve never had a negative experience,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u201cIf you tell someone \u2018you\u2019re going to have a voice and I\u2019m going to listen\u2019, it\u2019s totally empowering for them. Even the most disengaged teenager will engage with that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><strong>A troubled journey<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Christina may be successful in her chosen career, but life has not always been a bed of roses. Growing up in the US, her home life was unhappy and she struggled with literacy in her early years of kindergarten. \u201cOne of my teachers told me I would probably never learn to read which is a bit crazy,\u201d she laughs.<\/p>\n<p>Comments like that only made her more determined and gave her a drive from a young age to start reading and writing. She worked hard and began to use writing as a form of escapism from family troubles. \u201cI kept my head down and wrote a lot of poetry, stories and journals. It really helped me rise above the circumstances and understand what was going on and how I was feeling about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her hard work and gritty determination paid off when in 2009, on completion of her US degree in English Literature and Secondary Education, she won an international scholarship to study a Creative Writing MA across the pond in Cardiff.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_13008\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"width: 640px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/11\/IMG_38892.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-13008\" title=\"Christina Thatcher\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/11\/IMG_38892-1024x1018.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"636\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-13008\" title=\"Christina Thatcher\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/11\/IMG_38892-1024x1018.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"636\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">&quot;One of my teachers told me I would probably never learn to read,&quot; says Christina.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Pushing the boundaries<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Christina\u2019s own writing is a lens that helps her to interpret the world. She writes about childhood trauma, domestic abuse, domesticity, sterility and fear of womanhood. As a happy and optimistic character, she suggests her writing reflects a negativity that she doesn\u2019t portray in her regular life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWriting is such an intense part of my life, but I would never just want to be a writer,\u201d she says earnestly. \u201cMy own work is equal if not secondary to the work I\u2019m doing with young people and if I had to choose I would always, always pick running workshops and groups, being with the community and making an impact on other people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Christina has had wonderful feedback from her different classes and strong support from her various employers. But in spite of her success, she is adamant that she never wants to feel completely satisfied. \u201cI always want to feel there\u2019s more I can do to help young people and reach out to others,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Bright, bubbly and full of energy, the American-born and Cardiff-based Christina Thatcher is convinced that creative writing can be an important means of empowerment. \u201cI\u2019ve always had a really strong drive to do what I do,\u201d she says, referring to her multiple roles as writer, researcher and educator. Among other things, she is the leader of the writing programme at The Gate, the writer-in-residence at the Milkwood Gallery, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":252,"featured_media":13256,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-12972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-active-life"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cardiff character: Christina Thatcher - alt.cardiff<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2012\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-christina-thatcher\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cardiff character: Christina Thatcher - alt.cardiff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Bright, bubbly and full of energy, the American-born and Cardiff-based Christina Thatcher is convinced that creative writing can be an important means of empowerment. \u201cI\u2019ve always had a really strong drive to do what I do,\u201d she says, referring to her multiple roles as writer, researcher and educator. Among other things, she is the leader of the writing programme at The Gate, the writer-in-residence at the Milkwood Gallery, [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2012\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-christina-thatcher\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"alt.cardiff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-11-13T12:25:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/11\/C-Thatcher.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"324\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"altcardiff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"altcardiff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2012\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-christina-thatcher\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2012\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-christina-thatcher\/\",\"name\":\"Cardiff character: Christina Thatcher - alt.cardiff\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2012\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-christina-thatcher\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2012\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-christina-thatcher\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/11\/C-Thatcher.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-11-13T12:25:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/de310c54cac78ee98ab979d1d9838514\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2012\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-christina-thatcher\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2012\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-christina-thatcher\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2012\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-christina-thatcher\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/11\/C-Thatcher.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/11\/C-Thatcher.jpg\",\"width\":480,\"height\":324,\"caption\":\"Christina is passionate about using creative writing to empower others\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2012\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-christina-thatcher\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Cardiff character: Christina Thatcher\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/\",\"name\":\"alt.cardiff\",\"description\":\"If it\u2019s offbeat and in Cardiff then it\u2019s online here.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/de310c54cac78ee98ab979d1d9838514\",\"name\":\"altcardiff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/d295ced5909e1cd2084071dd52ea472d\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/84e0cb6c2b18bbfe2da6836cc1fa9e96c118088b9422dde2800dc39891b846ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/84e0cb6c2b18bbfe2da6836cc1fa9e96c118088b9422dde2800dc39891b846ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"altcardiff\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/author\/altcardiff\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Cardiff character: Christina Thatcher - alt.cardiff","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2012\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-christina-thatcher\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Cardiff character: Christina Thatcher - alt.cardiff","og_description":"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Bright, bubbly and full of energy, the American-born and Cardiff-based Christina Thatcher is convinced that creative writing can be an important means of empowerment. \u201cI\u2019ve always had a really strong drive to do what I do,\u201d she says, referring to her multiple roles as writer, researcher and educator. Among other things, she is the leader of the writing programme at The Gate, the writer-in-residence at the Milkwood Gallery, [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2012\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-christina-thatcher\/","og_site_name":"alt.cardiff","article_published_time":"2012-11-13T12:25:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":480,"height":324,"url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/11\/C-Thatcher.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"altcardiff","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"altcardiff","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2012\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-christina-thatcher\/","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2012\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-christina-thatcher\/","name":"Cardiff character: Christina Thatcher - alt.cardiff","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2012\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-christina-thatcher\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2012\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-christina-thatcher\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/11\/C-Thatcher.jpg","datePublished":"2012-11-13T12:25:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/de310c54cac78ee98ab979d1d9838514"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2012\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-christina-thatcher\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2012\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-christina-thatcher\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2012\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-christina-thatcher\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/11\/C-Thatcher.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/11\/C-Thatcher.jpg","width":480,"height":324,"caption":"Christina is passionate about using creative writing to empower others"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2012\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-christina-thatcher\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Cardiff character: Christina Thatcher"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/","name":"alt.cardiff","description":"If it\u2019s offbeat and in Cardiff then it\u2019s online here.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/de310c54cac78ee98ab979d1d9838514","name":"altcardiff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/d295ced5909e1cd2084071dd52ea472d","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/84e0cb6c2b18bbfe2da6836cc1fa9e96c118088b9422dde2800dc39891b846ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/84e0cb6c2b18bbfe2da6836cc1fa9e96c118088b9422dde2800dc39891b846ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"altcardiff"},"url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/author\/altcardiff\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/252"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12972"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=12972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}