Sally Bavage writes:
Before we
plunged in to the work of two local WEA
creative writing groups – Headingley and Osmondthorpe – we were treated to some
original poetry from three local established writers. James Nash told us of the confusion of
a recent recruit waiting for his army transport. A tank?
A jeep? No, a taxi! And his sonnet to a potentially lost love was
light and tender.
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| Headingley Creative Writing Group |
Bill
Fitzsimons read of
sadder things: a daughter surviving and thriving after a parental divorce;
man's inhumanity not to man but the Earth; a daughter's deathbed. Sad but beautifully written, giving meaning
to elegiac.
Finally Maria
Stephenson read to us of her accommodation with divorce, as well as her big
40 milestone. The death of a marriage
where rigor mortis has set in morphs to a joyous anticipation of the next
decade of the living bucket list. A
marathon, flying, horseriding and, of course, the novel. Already being edited; watch this space.
Then on to the
first of our creative writing groups, those from Headingley based at HEART under the tutelage of Liz McPherson.
Each of the fourteen contributors from the group took the theme of
'Endings' and interpreted it very differently.
Myrna Moore saw The Shed and her dad in his
final days. Cate Anderson wrote
of a Doodlebug Summer in London in WW2, and reminisced about the rarity
of an orange.
Rosie
Cantrell wrote a Quick
Note to My Nearest and Dearest, detailing what could, and should not, be
taken from her fridge. Oh, and an affair
with her children's uncle.
Nuala Fernand took the Blondie song title Heart of
Glass but explored in poem form what happens to love.
Howard Benn wrote in Slumber Down of the
decay of a man who, from sleeping naked, now wore pyjamas over his wrinkled
limbs and his dragged-down clothes echoed his sagging skin.
Steph Peart wrote in the Sick Room of
gnarled hands, lizard skin, at the end of life.
Jim Mallin spoke an ode to Dear Football,
whose lure had stolen his ambitions, provided the name of his goldfish (Stanley
Matthews) and taken over his life.
Julie Jones explored an updated children's story in
Three Little Pigs, Another Way.
Similar story, different ending as Porky Percy and Bacon met Red (Riding
Hood) and a vegetarian wolf with a peanut allergy and anger management
issues.
Dru Long wrote Birdsong, exploring the
premise that the things we think are permanent can change in an instant. Think Ghouta in Syria or Grenfell
Towers. We can wake to birdsong on an
ordinary day, everywhere.
Karen Byrne assured us that All Things Pass,
even hurt, isolation, pain and joy.
Brother, all things pass.
Marie Paule
Sheard left us a
conundrum in To End or Not to End, inspired by a quote from Paulo
Coelho: 'It's always important to now when something has reached its
end.'
Janet
Fawdington updated us
on Rapunzel – the True Story, exploring her rejection of being ladylike
or princessy, and pelted her would-be
prince suitors with potatoes.
Barbara
Lawton reminded us of a
modern truth in Breakdown; young people need support from parents, not a
denial of the truth.
Malcolm
Henshall gave us Three
Minutes and Counting as he tried to sell us a new improved religion. HR (Heavenly Resources) were involved, of
course, but things went awry as the countdown fizzled out and he had to return
to the drawing board.
Crumbs! No, we hadn't reached the home-made cake yet
but a short break in an already extraordinary morning; a good time to process
the images and couplets we had been served.
Osmondthorpe Creative Writing Group had been visited by a representative from the Brontë Parsonage
and they took a last line 'Endings' from work by all the Brontës and wove them into
their own stories and poems. I was going
to write 'What a novel idea' but that would be a cliché!
Maria Stephenson, their tutor, paid
particular thanks to the helpers Gavin, Hazel and David, without whose help she
would not have been able to support them all.
Julie Conroy used 'Must bear alone the weary
Strife' from On the Death of Anne Brontë by Charlotte, to write her own poem
on the dramas of life with family and friends.
Mandy Hudson explored 'Reader, I married him'
– surely one of the best-known lines from Jane Eyre – and declaimed that she
wanted a happy ending too.
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| Osmondthorpe Creative Writing Group |
Lisa Daniel used 'They Tell Their Own Story'
from Wuthering Heights by Emily to show lives full – but short - of drama and
intrigue.
Colin
Monaghan showed that 'With
Courage to Endure' from poem The Old Stoic by Emily, he himself had endured
learning to walk and live again after an accident put him over the handlebars
of a bike. He lived with memory lapses and then asked, “What are those?”
Pam Robinson took the line 'The Blue Ice Curdling
on the Stream' by Emily and reflected on icy moorland rivers in the depths
of the winter.
Lee Rowley 'Must Bear Alone the Weary Strife',
On the Death of Anne Brontë by Charlotte, “I am a broken man, But despite my
agony I soldier on the best I can, I have to live in hope, One letter can
change my life.”
Robert Thorpe took 'And what thou art may never be
destroyed', the last lines written by Emily, to explore some apocalyptic
scenes and advised us to book a holiday instead!
Paul Bugler explained that 'The Story is Told',
from Shirley by Charlotte, to warn of the dangers of fire – the sign of
impending death.
Paul Jeffrey explained that 'Till Then Farewell',
from The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne, implied we would one day be together
again with loved ones.
Gaynor
Chilvers – 'How Could
I Seek the Empty World Again', from Remembrance by Emily – talked of finding
her inner voice looking back into her past.
Jenny Ruddock used 'I Will Not, Cannot Go' from
Spellbound by Emily to explain why she hated going to town – too many people,
too many cars, too much noise.
Julie Bell found inspiration in 'Let him by
Moonlight pale to this sweet scene repair' from the poem Kirkstall Abbey by
Patrick.
Winky
Whiteley also used 'The
Story is Told' from Shirley to write a paean of praise and love
to his mum, proudly sitting in the audience.
The story of my mother is a happy one, he said, like a swan mothering
her cygnets.
Leann Rhodes found 'Till Then, Farewell', from
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne, inspired her to write a letter to her friend,
signing off a happy missive with the line above made jaunty in this context.
Amina Brennar found 'Rolled past the shores of
joy's dim and distant isle' from On Ouse's Grassy Bank by Branwell to help
her reminisce about her life at college and her wistfulness about such happy
times.
Julie Fisher used 'They Tell Their Own Story' from Wuthering Heights to
reveal her life story - parents told
she would never amount to anything, learning to read and write, wash and dress
herself, intelligence tests showing she was clever enough for university and
wanting to work with the children she would never have. A real tear-jerker to end.
What a morning!
A privilege to have been there, to have heard voices usually quietened explain
emotions and feelings in poetry and prose presented by those not often given
the chance to have an audience.
Wonderful.
Some Things
Matter: sonnets by James Nash
Cinema
Stories by James Nash
with Matthew Hedley Stoppard
A Bench for
Billie Holiday: 70 sonnets
is James' new collection from Valley Press and should be out in October,
Written on
the skin by Bill
Fitzsimons
Poetry for
the newly single 40 something, by Maria Stephenson
http://www.stairwellbooks.co.
Taking the Plunge writers and audience were treated to a delicious array of home-made cakes - for some the highlight of the morning! - baked by Sally Bavage, Mary Francis and Rachel Harkess. Needless to say, we were silenced by the munching of ginger and walnut, almond and orange, lemon and poppyseed and a Guinness cake that claimed the record for fastest disappearance.
Taking the Plunge writers and audience were treated to a delicious array of home-made cakes - for some the highlight of the morning! - baked by Sally Bavage, Mary Francis and Rachel Harkess. Needless to say, we were silenced by the munching of ginger and walnut, almond and orange, lemon and poppyseed and a Guinness cake that claimed the record for fastest disappearance.
The poets
projected their work clearly and there was a good variety of theme and
mood. I really enjoyed it
A wonderful
inspirational event. I will come again
Great
event. Enjoyed taking part but also
really enjoyed listening to others perform.
The Osmondthorpe group was amazing, very touching. Such a great performance. Well done Maria and members
A smooth
operation – everything went well.
Some interesting pieces and good
variety in terms of content and presentation
I really enjoyed
the whole event. Great range of
work. Good to hear the poets at the
beginning too. Very moving to hear the
Osmondthorpe group who were fantastic.
We all have a voice …
As usual a very
impressive event, well run and full of quality writing. Plenty to think about, happiness and
sadness. Fantastic performance from the
Osmondthorpe group.
Thank you for
this wonderful experience! The
Osmondthorpe group were so moving – please provide tissues to wipe our tears
next year! The Headingley group were also so inspiring
and their work so varied under the same theme of 'Endings'. BRILLIANT WORK FROM EVERYONE. Can't wait for
next year.
Always
enjoyable, but each year seems more professional, the performers were so good.
Good variety of work too. Osmondthorpe
were inspiring.
I liked the
range of writing performed, especially the mix of prose and poetry, and the
various ways the theme of 'Endings' had been interpreted
Osmondthorpe
were wonderful. Great organisation of
all. Writing groups' work was extremely
professional – varied and high quality.
Great cakes!
Very good
I thought the
whole morning of people reading their own work was truly touching and
heart-warming. The Osmondthorpe group
especially reduced me to tears with some of their words
A very good and
interesting event as it always is with the WEA creative writing groups. I particularly thought Maria Stephenson's
poems were enjoyable and the Osmondthorpe group's life experiences set to
Brontë poetry were very interesting
The usual
fantastic mix of poetry and prose by the Headingley and Osmondthorpe
groups. A wealth of local talent
Amazing! Let's
have more! Osmondthorpe group are inspirational
Very
enjoyable. Great standard of varied
writings and readings. Only downpoint
was arriving and feeling very alienated when myself and my friend were almost
physically separated by one of the organisers who insisted that I, in a wheelchair, be with the
Osmondthorpe writers and my friend be with the Headingley group. Actually I have previously belonged to
both. No words were spoken to me, I can speak!
I do speak! We were not
wheelchairs to be got in – we are people.
I know that it's difficult to get everyone in etc but please stay calm
and don't make /ignore people in chairs and speak to others with them etc etc
etc. Overall, excellent morning. Inspiring work from both groups. The Brontë forms for Osmondthorpe worked very
well
Moving and
inspiring work from all. Bit
disconcerting though to hear wheelchair-using people as 'wheelchairs' – people
are not their equipment
Brilliant, very
well presented, high standard of work, well spoken, moving and inspiring
Excellent
performance again. The Osmondthorpe
group were very thought-provoking and moving
Brilliant
event. Really enjoyed it
