‘I open the door and then
I see a lonely man
as lonely as I was when I got taken away
I went up to him and said
Do you need a friend
and the wind started to blow
I was cold
he was cold
but there was nothing there…’
(Text © of the author, 2018)
This was written in one of my poetry workshops at DGS this week. You might think it’s good. But not exceptional.
Until I tell you that this writer was a 13 year old student from set 10 (the smallest English class with students who have multiple additional barriers to learning, for whom writing is not just hard, it’s an ordeal). This was a first draft. She wrote it just like this, first time (the only differences are the spellings, some of which I’ve corrected for publishing on this blog).
For me, this is a beautiful example of the fact that opportunities for creative writing MUST be open to all, regardless of background or ability, and that writing HAS to be for all. We can work through things when we write. Express things that we had not even known were there. We can test boundaries, explore and pursue new concepts and structures. We can experience freedom of thought.
This writer read her work aloud in front of the group. At the end of the session, I think she left the room a whole foot taller.
Let’s open the door for all young people, regardless of age/identity/background/gender/ability, to write freely in our schools. Please.
Elaine Baker - Poet 