We can virtually taste summer! And here’s a sample taste, in the form of the final 2 poems of the school year, from St Birinus School Poet Laureates, Ianto Cater (year 7) and Elliott World (year 8), who I’ve been mentoring this year. My thanks to both of them, for their inventive and colourful work,Continue reading “Dreaming of fast cars and barbecues …”
Tag Archives: school
Starting point for a poem
Our Didcot Girls’ School Poet Laureate, Larika Jones, has been writing away, behind the scenes, working on her latest poem. Each term, I give the Poet Laureates I work with in schools, a new commission. Typically a single word, it becomes the point from which they grow a poem. I always encourage them to startContinue reading “Starting point for a poem”
How to sum up the summer term…? Patron of Writing Update
‘Expect the unexpected.’ That’s been proven to be so true for me, this year! Covid-19 has brought extreme challenges for many of us but I can definitely see how my work has grown, through it. As I was no longer able to meet face-to-face with our DGS Young Writers group after March this year, weContinue reading “How to sum up the summer term…? Patron of Writing Update”
Ask a Creative
I’ve reached the end of my poetry writing workshops with Year 9 students at Didcot Girls’ School. It looked a bit like this: 3 weeks 270 teenagers a storm of unique voices dozens of mind-freeing doodles a symphonic display of ideas & imagery hundreds of doors opened AND a flurry of post-it note questions posed.Continue reading “Ask a Creative”
Open the door
‘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,Continue reading “Open the door”
Delight
I’m at the end of my first week of poetry workshops with Year 9 at Didcot Girls’ School and just couldn’t be happier. The responses to the sessions have been absolutely glowing! So before I take the weekend off, and get some R&R in preparation for week two, I thought I’d share some of theContinue reading “Delight”
“So, let’s start with your name. And why you are here.” #LetsDoThisKids – 3
No. This is not an AA meeting. This was how we kicked off the Writers’ Mentoring Programme at Didcot Girls’ School this week – an initiative that has grown out of the poetry workshops I led last term with around 250 year 9 and 10 students. As it’s a New Year (and all that) pleaseContinue reading ““So, let’s start with your name. And why you are here.” #LetsDoThisKids – 3”
#Letsdothiskids – Discoveries of a school Patron of Writing
I’m reeling. I’ve just been reading the creative writing of a bunch of 11 and 12 year olds. Original, compelling, artistically adventurous writing. Here’s a flavour: I’m summer, I’m winter, I’m everything it seems. Emily W Year 7 She is a record player, playing softly as everyone dances. She smells like warm leather but onContinue reading “#Letsdothiskids – Discoveries of a school Patron of Writing”
