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Regular news and insight from our many poets, writers, educators and facilitators

03 October 2020

Posted by Susmita Bhattacharya

Where do we belong?

Group 1 - 14

Group 2 - 10


This week, we continued on our theme of Belonging, focusing on the objects that are precious to us. Memories. Food. Life experiences we wanted to share with each other. All the material we produce will be displayed in an exhibition curated by Art Asia as part of the Southampton City Council's Mayflower 400 programme. 

Here are a couple of examples, looking at food and what it means to these two young writers:

Zastyrca

by Kamile Ginn (Group 1)

When someone asks me what is the food you like -

I answer them with a huge grin.

I like when mum makes zastyrca,

it splashes and bubbles,

yellow little egg things floating 

on sweet, white milk.

Then she hands me a bowl

and gets one for herself.

I finish first of course, having three or four

bowls at the minimum.

And that is what I love so dearly, do you understand now?


Porridge

by Katie Chant (Group 2)

Street lamps burn outside our road

full of semi-detached houses.

They all look the same,

Oozing out of bed to the beeping of alarms

still wrapped in blankets,

Saving our stove as the porridge boils over

coating our counter in sticky tar.

Parents distracted by my brother's lost tie:

We are hardly a picture of domestic bliss.

Oats and milk

Stodgy, bland and safe,

mixed with cinnamon and apple.

Toppings change with the seasons, but always

served with a side of last night's unfinished homework.

Warm sludge filling my stomach,

A hot breakfast always better at offsetting 

the winter chill than socks layered over school tights.

I will never be a morning person.


You can send as many poems you like. It can be a collaboration with family members too. You could send stories or life stories connected with a particular food. Our email is youngwriters@artfulscribe.co.uk

You can have a look at the storytelling pack for instructions and art workshops too: Art Asia Belonging Project and sign the consent form so we can share it.


We are working on another fantastic project with Audacious. This week, we created Kenning poems. Kennings are a fantastic way to describe - well, anything really - without giving away the name of that thing. This ancient form of describing words comes from old Norse poetry, where the Vikings would describe their explorations and exploits by describing them rather metaphorically, or as riddles. So the sea was described as 'whale road', the ship as 'sea steed'. We created kennings for different modes of transport, and then wrote poems about them.

Here's an example:

The Ice Journey

by Naomi Beeching (Group 1)

The sea rider glides

down the glacier path.

Wave-spit splashing at my 

furless pelt.

Sky flares darken

as the wave-rippler

calls it song of world end,

its song of flareless shadow.


You can create Kenning poems as well. Have a look at this Kenning writing tutorial and have a go!

Artwork by Amelia Ockwell - Group 1. Here, Amelia has shown the things that are important to her. 

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