07 December 2018
Poem Sculpture
We were double booked this week and rather than the usual sanctuary of a quiet room for scribbling, discussion and feedback we were cast out on a table in the choppy sea of our community cafe.
The sizzle of the banger, the comings and goings of new and old faces, the murmur and snatch of conversation, children zigging, hot breakfasts zagging, scarfs unwinding, catching a chorus you hum along to on the radio, and no chance of hearing that particular itch and scratch of pen on paper.
By luck, or maybe it was those capricious workshop gods, I'd picked an exercise that didn't require monastic silence, or much explanation.
It required an old book, some scissors and a few highlighters.
Only an example was needed. I chopped a page at random, snip snip, then read and highlighted the words and phrases that stood out to me. Having finished I read out the highlights. It was as if a poem had been hiding in the page all along. It wasn't the greatest poem, but the sense of transformation was delightful and satisfying, and transformation is the heart of a poem.
Poem Sculpting is a fascinating way to work, demanding closer reading and a sense of articulation that reminds me of the editing process.
Poem Sculpting also cuts through the preciousness of a text; words, even printed words in a bound book, can be ripped out and repurposed. It echos Pound's maxim, ‘make it new.’
What's more there was conversation and the exchange of ideas. A buzz built around the table. We swapped our poems, read them out, ‘Here, have a listen to this one!’ Other people, customers at the cafe who've never been to a 'creative writing’ group, and describe themselves as ‘not creative’, became interested and had a go.
Archive
Junior & Young Writers: Week 12 [Wild Words] - Stuff & Things
Junior & Young Writers: Week 11 [Wild Words] - World Building 2
Junior & Young Writers: Week 10 [Wild Words] - World Building
Junior & Young Writers: Week 9 [Wild Words] - Mystery & Choose Your Own Adventure
Junior & Young Writers: Week 8 [Wild Words] - Spooky Sequels & Potion Poems
Junior & Young Writers – Week 10 (Writers’ Inspiration) – Final Showcase
Junior & Young Writers – Week 9 (Writers’ Inspiration) – Editing & Performance Tips
Junior & Young Writers – Week 8 (Writers’ Inspiration) – Cuteness
Time goes on by Tavinder Kaur New
Junior & Young Writers – Week 7 (Writers’ Inspiration) – Natural Solutions
Junior & Young Writers – Week 6 (Writers’ Inspiration) – The Language of Fruit and Veg
Junior & Young Writers – Week 5 (Writers’ Inspiration) – Adventures In Space
Tinklebobs and Bedraggled Angles
Junior & Young Writers – Week 4 (Writers’ Inspiration) – Our Environment
Fortune Tellers & Future Letters
Junior & Young Writers – Week 3 (Writers’ Inspiration) – Home
Young Writers - Week 10 (The Art of Writing) – Final Week Showcase
Junior Writers - Week 10 (The Art of Writing) – Final Week Showcase
Young Writers – Week 9 (The Art of Writing) – Choose Your Own Adventure
Junior Writers – Week 9 (The Art of Writing) – Choose Your Own Adventure
Young Writers – Week 8 (The Art of Writing) – Sequel Stories
Junior Writers – Week 8 (The Art of Writing) – Sequel Stories
Young Writers – Week 7 (The Art of Writing) – Picture Prompts
Junior Writers – Week 7 (The Art of Writing) – Picture Prompts
Young Writers - Week 6 (The Art of Writing) - Script-writing & Dialogue
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Edward The Martyr - A Competition!
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WORDCUP - Hounsdown Session #6
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WORDCUP - Hounsdown Session #5
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WORDCUP - Hounsdown Session #4
Stories From Our Streets at the Abbeyfield Wessex Society Reminiscence Session at Poole Library
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Interview: In Conversation with Dr Victoria Leslie
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SUPER MARIO AND POP CULTURE POEMS
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on workshop and transformations: frogs, lions, and the duck that becomes a larder...
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