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| Is That You Talking? Original Image by Martine Charalambou, 2000 |
Hello!
In my previous post, I talked about the poem Origins by Imelda Maguire & invited you to write about where you come from. The responses from the groups I worked with were really powerful and there was an interest in the poet and her work. So we then looked at her poem Mother from the same collection – Shout if You Want Me to Sing:
Mother by Imelda Maguire
The things I’ve learnt from you
may not be the those skills usually
passed from mother to daughter.
I still can’t bake a loaf of bread
or manage to get every room
tidied in one day.
But I can take pleasure in my garden,
stroll around and inventory the plants
like you used to.
Remember calling us all down
to show us a bleeding heart,
or your Calvary plant?.jpg)
Whenever I pile the contents of a room
in the hallway, intent
on doing a proper clear-out,
I think of you.
You’d do that too, and then
a shaft of sunlight
or chorus of birdsong
would draw you outdoors.
There we’d find you
when we came in from school,
swinging on the back-garden swing,
face up to the sunshine,
whistling with the blackbird.
You drove us made with your vagaries.
You taught me there’s never a time
to stop asking questions.
Look at you.
Seventy, and still at it.
This poem provoked strong responses and poetry. I also used this poem as an introduction to using the second person point of view.
Try This! Write a poem addressing someone who has taught you something, perhaps this skill is unexpected – as with Imelda Maguire’s poem.
Some follow up workshops have looked at novels/short stories using the second person POV, including Jay McInerney’s novel ‘Bright Lights Big City’ and Lorrie Moore’s short story collection ‘Self Help.’
Try this! Change something you have written in the third person into the second person POV. Does it feel very different to you now?
NEXT UP WITH CREATIVE WRITES!
Following the success of Creating Character at the end of April, our next Themed Workshop is Colour As Writing Inspiration on Wednesday 27th May, 7.30pm in Muswell Hill, N10. This is followed by our block of three June 2015 Workshops from Wednesday 3rd June, also in Muswell Hill. Writing the Senses Themed Workshop is on 24th June.
Full details on our website & please ask if you have any questions:
https://www.creativewrites.co.uk/p/bookings-workshop-info-how-to-book.html
Bye for now,
Nichola x