Welcome to a series of weekly poems, selected by guest editor Jane Burn on the theme of Trauma. We start with Question by Marg Roberts. Jane says ‘Question’ is a snapshot into a surreal world. It has an uncomfortable air of other-worldly un-belonging, a suffocating sense of displacement. It speaks of a fate that so … Continue reading Question by Marg Roberts
Tag: writing from life
The Weapon and The Dove by David McVey
The language and imagery in this poem are beautiful - 'a harsh shout raw like mince' and 'breathless latchkey kid'. It's evocative of being a child and the man who's 'tall but hungry thin' is vividly described. The poem successfully puts us in a time and place with the single piece of dialogue and the … Continue reading The Weapon and The Dove by David McVey
Two poems by Chris Stewart
This week we're happy to share two pieces by Middlesbrough performance poet Chris Stewart. Chris describes himself as "a background extra in a Harvey Weinstein movie because it is literally true. He is snoze af - so woke he had to hit snooze. He's been in loads of magazines and things you wouldn't have heard of. … Continue reading Two poems by Chris Stewart
Together, we create magic!
On Monday 13th May we will hold our second free 'digital storytelling' taster session, 1.30pm at Middlesbrough Central Library. Even if you are completely new to writing, or using iPads to make films, we can help you contribute to a simple group filmpoem - like this one, created in just 90 minutes by participants at … Continue reading Together, we create magic!
Changes – When, Not If by Sandra Hill
Here's a digital story that's a lot of fun. Sandra took the shape of Rudyard Kipling's most famous poem "If", and made it into her own story. We hope you enjoy her ingenuity!
A digital story by Gwen
Here's a simple photo-montage film using the Ken Burns effect, from our workshop participant Gwen. We love her story about how the loss of her beloved dog led to an unexpected influx of garden visitors... Remember, we'd love to feature poems, stories, memoirs and films by anyone who would like to celebrate the changes in … Continue reading A digital story by Gwen
Jesus Saves by Fran Edwards
The second digital story we'd like to share is by Fran Edwards, a regular member of our Celebrating Change monthly workshops in 2018. Some of her poetry and prose work has already appeared in earlier blog posts. You'll see Fran has used vintage footage of the Cannon Street area of Middlesbrough, captured by filmmaker Derek … Continue reading Jesus Saves by Fran Edwards
Big little stories
For our March session, we focussed on ways to call small memories to life and turn them into short, authentic pieces of writing. It was a wonderful experience to hear people's work, and see how even small incidents led to large insights when remembered with attention and clarity. Scroll to the end for the writing … Continue reading Big little stories
Drawing out the stories
As we head towards our winter break, I'd like to thank everyone who came out to our second workshop, including a few new faces - so wonderful to have a roomful of people making memory maps! I first used memory mapping as a writing prompt at a workshop run by the fabulous Wolf At The … Continue reading Drawing out the stories
Celebrating Change 