All emotions included - Malika Booker at Little London Academy

 

Richard Wilcocks writes:

Malika Booker began with a reading of one of her published poems – about a cat that had to go when she was born – then said a few words about narrative poems in general. She explained that they had existed before writing was invented and were sometimes very long, so they had to be learned by heart. Many of her own poems are stories about her own early life. The poems to be written by the class did not have to be long, though, and before anybody asked, they don’t have to rhyme

Thanks to class teacher Victoria Williams (pictured with Malika), the nine and ten year-olds in the Year 5 class at Little London Academy in Leeds already knew a fair amount about similes and metaphors, judging from the speed with which their hands shot up after Malika Booker asked them about the matter at the beginning of her first session with them, so when she followed with “What does love look like?” they got the idea immediately. Here are some responses -

Love is like sweet chocolate melting in your mouth

Love is like a white swan gliding across a lake

When she invited them to think about the rest of the five senses, it was time to shift a few chairs and work in pairs and threes. How would they deal with emotions like sadness or anger?

Anger is like a volcano which builds up then explodes.

Or sadness?

Sadness is like rotting food in a forgotten fridge.

An impressed Malika said she might use some ideas from this class in her own poetry, then warned that in the next session a portrait poem would be devised and written. So it was: in the second session copies of ‘My Father’s Hands’ by poet Lisa Mahair Majaj (Palestinian – American poet who was brought up in Jordan) were distributed and read out.

This poem is available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-Kp1IjjSzA

Each member of the class then drew an outline around one of their hands, and a personal loved one was chosen – a mother, a father, a sister…   and the outline was filled with the similes chosen by each individual for the various emotions felt for the loved one.

“Think of actions,” said Malika. “Look at me. I’m tapping the side of my head to show you what my mum did when she was very anxious. Can you think of any special action that your loved person does? You’re sure to have a good idea suddenly strike you. You can call it an epiphany!”

One boy had a good idea immediately:

My mum stirs a pot as if it was the wheel of a pirate ship.

“And what would it be like if you could never hold that hand again?” asked Malika.

It would be a day with no light

a stomach with no food

a bird with no wings

a dog with no bark

 

 

The writing in the drawings became the poem to be performed in the main hall during an assembly in the third session.

A Year 4 class and a row of parents formed the audience. There was laughter and tears of joy at several points in the performance.

Parents' comments included:

So heartwarming – and they weren’t just writing about love – other emotions like jealousy and anger were there.

So expressive!

It was such a good experience to have the kids performing for us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Women's Day at Heart

Headingley Litfest and Heartline Writers (formerly a WEA creative writing group based at HEART) have collaborated for a number of years  to present an annual event of spoken word and song for International Women's Day.

Sadly, in the light of events around the world, it feels more important than ever to highlight women's rights and to celebrate the lives and actions of courageous women and allies from the past and in the present. 

This year's International Women's Day theme is Accelerate Action. Do come along to this free event at HEART that includes tea, coffee and cake, with donations welcome to cover costs. All are welcome. No need to book. Tuesday 4th March.  Doors open 10.15, event starts at 10.30. HEART, Bennett Rd, LS6 3HN. Some Disabled Parking on site. Accessible venue. See you there!

 Antarctica at Spring Bank Primary School

 

On Friday 14th February Year 3 included a presentation of their original poems as a much-anticipated and joyful finale to a Certificates assembly celebrating personal achievements. The temperature outside at 9 am was 1 degree Centigrade and my car was warning me of black ice. Definitely scene-setting to get us in the mood, but the very warm welcome by a whole row of parents for the efforts of their youngsters was heartwarming. Deputy headteacher Amy Houldsworth gave James Nash a big build-up and explained how every year that he has worked in the school he has created magic.

A topic new to our commissioned poet, local writer James Nash, he had carefully done his research and held an ideas session with the year 3 children to give them a range of possibilities. They chose to write original work on the theme 'Imagine you are a penguin.' And, of course, had to model how penguins walk! They considered how penguins live, what they love or hate, the realities of daily life with their families. Quite sophisticated ideas when you're seven years old. They might be small but the ambition in their writing was huge. Young writers with some very mature considerations.

As they worked together on crafting and editing their work, their confidence grew along with their thinking and vocabulary. And they were so engaged and enthusiastic about the work that all the parents commented how much they had heard about it at home. “He's never stopped talking about it, and is so looking forward to expressing himself.” For, of course, part of the project is encouraging children to perform their own work in front of an audience. Just the whole school, and staff, and parents. Quite daunting when you're a new reader as well as writer!

“He's buzzing to do it!” “She's following her two sisters who have alredy done this project, and who both told her how much she would enjoy it. She has.” “All week he has been very excited and looking forward to performing.” “She's very shy but going to read out some of her work, I'm so proud of her.” There was more in this vein, and a universal thumbs-up that Mrs Baruah's class had really got under the skin of a penguin.

We heard about protecting the penguin eggs amidst the blue of the ice, or in a blizzard. We thought about the sound of silence, or the raging of the winds. We worried about swimming alone or walking through the snow. We considered the danger of icebergs and predators in the sea.

'I can feel the cold.'

'I'm looking for a hole in the snow to lay my beautiful eggs.'

'I hear silence, or the sea lapping on the ice.'

'The snow is shiny, glittery.'

'I walk and wobble on the ice.'

'I see other penguins with joy and laughter.'

When I asked Mrs Baruah, and several other teaching or teaching assistant staff, “Can you think of a child who has absolutely confounded your expectations this week?” each of them had several examples come immediately to mind. So the project has long-term implications for writing competence as well as self-confidence – and you can't overestimate the value of that.

Once again we are very grateful to the Inner North West Area Management Committee of Leeds City Council for supporting this project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Volcanic Poetry at Shire Oak Primary - with James Nash

 

Volcanic poetry from Year 3

It was a Thursday afternoon assembly at Shire Oak Primary School and Year 3 were erupting. With excitement. They had been working with local writer and poet James Nash and were there to share their brilliant poetry about volcanoes with Years 2 and 6 and many of their parents. It was a proud moment for all.

It all began on an afternoon earlier in the week when James introduced himself to the class, finding out what they knew about the topic and outlining what they were going to do. After reading them some of his own poems or couplets to start the lava flowing, he led an ‘ideas’ session. This helped the seven/eight-year-olds to gather their first thoughts and suggestions. He posed them a series of questions which they answered in the first person as if they were a volcano. The next session was all about editing and redrafting and working their first versions into a draft. They thought about a poem’s 'shape' in terms of verses and line length, and how to make an impact with their opening lines.

 

‘I am volcano and I don’t care’

‘I am a lion, red blood drips from my teeth’

And,

‘I just want to kick my legs’.

 

Mr Martin, Year 3 teacher, had this to say about the children’s responses to the activity: ‘It gave them purpose, and an outcome they could reach towards’. Mrs Strange, classroom support for Year 3, was able to add, ‘The writing ignited their imagination. They accessed the poetry very quickly’.

They shared their writing with each other, working on their drafts and paying particular attention to their forthcoming performance. Even the shyest found a confident voice and it was clear that Year 3 were very busy and engaged. And they had fun.

One said, ’It was really good working with a poet who was there to give advice’. And another said,’ I loved gathering my ideas for my writing and then learning how to make that into a poem’.

So here they were in front of a live audience, some reading a few lines from their writing, others sharing the whole poem. One parent remarked that it was striking how confident and audible they were, and another said how enthused they had become about writing poems. Amongst the many hugely positive comments were, ‘I am so impressed by the use of language – of explosive language. And the references to Pompeii too!’ and ‘ Very impressive how learning about a science topic can lead to such creative work, while still meeting curriculum requirements’.

It was left to headteacher, Ms Jane Devane, to sum up the whole experience. ‘As always, it’s a joyous highlight to the year when our Year 3 children work with James and produce such wonderful poems. They learn such a lot from working with a real poet, and having a live audience helps them shape their words with purpose and deliver with confidence’.

Headingley LitFest is very grateful once again for support for this project from the Area Management Committee of Leeds City Council and the local councillors who allocate the grant.
 

 

Return to Narnia at Quarry Mount Primary School

Quarry Mount Primary School, January 2025 - Return to Narnia

It was a morning of celebration at Quarry Mount Primary School this Wednesday when Year Five, who had been working with local poet and published writer James Nash, had the chance to share their work in an assembly with Years 4 and 6, and with their parents. Quite daunting when you're only nine or ten years old.

They had spent the week finding their poetic voices. The starting point of the class reading-book - The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe – explores four children as they enter the new world of Narnia. Year 5 imagined their own journey into a new world. Some of their writing had a science-fiction feel to it, others a more humorous approach. Two poems strikingly had football at their heart, and expressed the footballing dreams and ambitions of their writers.

Mrs Yaqub, the class teacher, and Mrs. Gough, the teaching assistant, were a great support in the poetic endeavours of the children, giving them time outside the creative sessions to write neat, final drafts that will appear in a classroom book of their poems.

The assembly itself was the climax of three mornings of work. Parents were very impressed by the range of language used by the young people, with one saying how the sessions with James in school had motivated her son to write at home. One boy had apparently never written anything like it before but would certainly be trying his hand at poetry again. Result!

‘ I jumped into a volcano

Lava was bubbling inside

I would not regret this

It’s the best choice of my life’.

James with teacher Mrs Yaqub

 

Several parents commented that they hoped that James would come into school again and echoed Rebecca Pettman, the headteacher, when she said,

‘Our children had a great time creating poetry with James. It is wonderful to see how enthusiastic they are to create their poems and use such a rich range of vocabulary in their writing’.

Every poem produced was original and expressed something individual from the imagination of each of the young poets.

‘I could feel the wind,

The air tasted nasty, bitter’

And

‘My quest was to defeat the monster’.

The final words should come from Mrs.Yaqub, who said of James,

‘I’d like to thank him for continuing to come and work with our fantastic children. They learnt so much and he opened them up to their creative selves’.

This project has several aims: to work with an established poet who introduces various forms of poetry and how you start writing it; to allow youngsters to craft their own original work; to perform their own poems to a large audience. These are unforgettable experiences that can change young minds, develop self-confidence and sometimes break down internal barriers to success.

 

Headingley LitFest is very grateful once again for support for this project from the Area Management Committee of Leeds City Council and the local councillors who allocate the grant.

 

 

Remembrance - poetry at Ireland Wood Primary

 Remembrance 

Sally Bavage writes:

No, not exactly of Things Past by Marcel Proust, though they have. More WW1, although it haunts us still. The Thing Past this time was a battered old trumpet, owned by our commissioned local writer and poet James Nash, who used it as a starting point for generating original writing and poetry by two year 6 classes at Ireland Wood primary school.

Thursday 28 November was indeed a seasonally cold and frosty morning but the warm welcome afforded to the thirty or so visiting parents/carers by an assembled year 6 was excited and joyful. Less so the subject: the celebrated WW1 poets such as Brooke, Owen or Sassoon knew how to touch a nerve. No less our aspiring writers at Ireland Wood, who read out their powerful and affecting poems confidently to an audience of school staff, parents and four classes of both peers and other pupils. Quite daunting but a triumph over nerves and self-doubt.

Their writing was first discussed, workshopped, drafted, redrafted, polished and prepared for performance. As Mr Crossley (pictured with James Nash), year 6 teacher, said: “The calming soothing voice of James Nash just convinces all the pupils to write with feeling and empathy. He encourages them all to shine with self-confidence and is so good at getting the best out of them. And he spoke for Mrs Bilioni, his colleague year 6 teacher who said “100% we want him back next year!”

It really is a testament by the school to give such commitment to the work and to put so much organisational effort into the assembly – careful choreography, practice with a microphone, even group singing of Pack Up Your Troubles and Long Way to Tipperary. Anyone who's tried that with sixty individuals knows what goes in. And the careully mounted poems were all displayed behind the pupils for some very proud parents to read and in which the writers could take pride. Teaching staff and teaching assistants were unanimously really enthusiastic.

“He's been talking about the work at home, which isn't usual,” said one dad. And a mum volunteered that “her daughter had so enjoyed the work she now 'loved poetry'.” That's no mean feat for one of the less popular aspects of the curriculum. “Wow, she surprised us all,” said teaching assistant Mrs Mirshekar of one young person with special needs. “What a difference between the drafts of her writing as she gained in confidence.” Teaching assistant Mrs Mohammadi confided that “Even when English is not the first language our pupils used imagination, understood similes and were eager instead of struggling to write. They loved it. I've been here fourteen years and seen the results that James Nash has generated before but it's true that the children absolutely love it.”

And the children themselves. Beaming faces all round gave away their feelings. One girl perhaps summed up for all: “I have really, really enjoyed it and even read a book (about the fell-running messengers of WW1) as preparation to set the scene.” Mrs Hutchinson, teaching assistantt, summed up: “Simply amazing.”

Others confided to James:

‘It’s lovely being creative and coming up with your own ideas’

‘I’ve really liked learning about how to write a poem’

‘ I’ve had fun, working with a real poet’

It's impossible to report on sixty poems, so just a very few lines follow:

Why am I here; I should be at home.

My friends are falling one by one.

All you can smell in the trenches is the soldiers' flesh and blood.

Peaceful melodies that break my heart.

How could they play while people are dying?

As they blow it makes me think of a loud and painful scream.

Remember, a trumpet being played

Signalling the end of war.