Writer, poet and teacher
After the success of Wimborne Literary Festival last year, Gullivers Bookshop is organising another on November 1st-3rd. One of the key speakers is crime writer, Colin Dexter.
I am running a poetry workshop in Wimborne on the afternoon of Thursday, 1st November, as part of the festival. See the website for more details and the complete programme!
This morning I’ve enjoyed listening to Dylan Thomas read his poem, ‘In My Craft or Sullen Art’, in The Poetry Archive.
The Poetry Archive is a fabulous online resource.
Dylan Thomas is one of my favourite poets and it is wonderful to be able to hear his voice which, interestingly, doesn’t sound as Welsh as I expected. The Archive suggests this is because he had elocution lessons as a child. But I wonder if he used different ‘voices’ for different readings?
I admire so much about Dylan’s poetry – his seemingly effortless rhymes, the rhythms of course, the passion and the way he breathes new life into poetic images and ideas … bread, moon, nightingales,heart …
Last Saturday, a group of poets from Wimborne Writing Group read some of their poems at the open air gathering, ‘Poetry Jamboree’, at the Red House Museum in Christchurch. This was an enjoyable occasion and it was great to have a chance to air our own writing, and to hear other poets read theirs. The museum gardens are gorgeous. We were very lucky with the weather which has taken a real turn for the worse since then. But I love Autumn, so I don’t mind rain and storms!
Also on Saturday, we discovered a strange creature in our garden – it seemed like a caterpillar but larger than I’ve ever seen before and scary in appearance, with markings that looked like huge eyes on its head! Research on the internet revealed that it is an elephant hawk moth caterpillar. If it survives the winter it could turn into a beautiful pink and green moth.
I’ve written before about how any painting (or other work of art) could inspire a poem or story. There are many ways of doing this: staying closely with the piece of art, describing it; imagining, perhaps developing, the story in the picture; imagining the artist at work; moving away from the work of art to make a connection with something or someone else …
I recently discovered an online poetry anthology, And Other Poems, where a poem is added every few days. This is an eclectic and interesting collection – well worth following. Today’s offering is, ‘Vermeer’s Milk Maid’ by Esther Morgan. This poem briefly describes the picture – the ‘ribbon of milk’ and ‘belly of the pitcher’ -and then moves on to more personal and reflective ideas. I admire the stillness and feeling of balance that this poem conveys.
Serendipity
An indigo and damask
butterfly
alights on my head –
enchanting adornment
Knitting I’ve laboured over
unravels in delight
Chalk birds
abandon their mournful cries
and celebrate
My eyebrows wing us
above the shadow doorways
to an appointment
with my muse
Euterpe
My poem was inspired by the painting: ‘Life-Secret 1: The Black Butterfly of Inspiration’ by Caroline Ireland, which I viewed during Bridport Open Studios event. See the image below.
© Caroline Ireland
I visited the start of Bridport & W.Dorset Open Studios a couple of weeks ago and viewed some gorgeous art. The Open Studios project is part of Bridport’s Festival of Culture and it will be continuing over the August bank holiday weekend. I viewed some paintings by David Brooke, Caroline Ireland and Kit Glaisyer – all very different and all so very inspiring. They were so inspiring that I’ve written poems about specific artworks. These, together with poems by other poets, may well be displayed alongside the works of art. So – if you need some inspiration for your writing – visit Bridport!
Last week, Wimborne Writing Group visited Priest’s House Museum in Wimborne. This was our summer outing. We were given a guided tour and interesting talk, then coffee and delicious cakes in the brand new cafe and conference centre. The gardens which stretch down to the river are beautiful and had it been a sunnier day, I’m sure we would have sat outside.
Each room at the museum is in a different period and figures dressed in clothes of the time bring a real-life quality. Our guide read a letter to us that Mrs Susan Lowe received in 1829 from her husband, William, when he was away on business. When he returned he brought her a magnificent lustre jug as a present and this is in the museum.
It made me think again of how letters are invaluable for historians. Our texts, emails and phone calls are ephemeral and won’t provide the same sort of record of ordinary lives for historians of the future.
Think, also, about the important role that letters have played in plays, novels and poetry.
I’ve completed my course in Coaching Skills and now I am an accredited (relational dynamic) coach! I will be looking for coaching opportunities with individuals, particularly writers and those working in the creative arts or in health care settings. It’s been an intensive time at the Free Word Centre in London working with a wonderful group led by excellent trainers, Deb Barnard and Anne Caldwell. I’ve been learning the theory, practising coaching with great enthusiasm, reflecting on what I’ve learned, and I’m so glad to have passed at the end! My head is spinning but I’m looking forward to developing my skills. I’ll be using my learning straight away with all those writers in the groups I lead.
Another wonderful aspect of the course has been the help I’ve received with my own writing – through being coached by other members of the group. I’m fired up to get on with my novel. The first things is to count how many characters are milling about in it, just to check that there aren’t too many! When will I do this? Today!
To link with the theme of some previous posts: this has been an emotional and intellectual journey for me – inspiring and challenging. Now I need to draw breath and sort out my ideas!
The Saison Poetry Library at the Southbank Centre is a fantastic resource. You can visit it in person or online. If you are a poet, the list of poetry magazines is an extremely useful resource. You can browse through many issues online. A number of my poems are available to read for example, in South poetry magazine.
These goats clambered from grassland down the cliffs and onto a beach in Normandy. We were beachcombing – finding limpet and oyster shells, seaweed, a washed up camera bag and salty samphire – but the sight of these two intrepid animals was the best find!
I’ve just returned from a holiday in Brittany, France where the weather was sunnier than here! The hydrangeas were stunning and the washed sands and pink granite along the coast near Trebeurden were magical. Back to reality now. Next week I’m doing the second half of a course at the Free Word Centre in London. The course is an accredited Training in Coaching Skills for Writers (run by Nawe and Arvon) and I’m loving it. As well as sharpening up my coaching skills so that I can help other writers, it’s also helping me to sort out my ideas about my own writing. I’ll be saying some more about this course and the Free Word Centre soon.
Sarah Barr