Communities in Practise
Communities in Practise was not only my final module (apart from the dissertation) of the MA course, but also my favourite. Part of the remit was to find a residency and I chose Worth Park, a local Victorian Park.
I discussed with the project manager what they would like from me and also what I needed to provide for my creative piece for the module. It was agreed that I would conduct poetry workshops for adult beginners and an Open Mic, ‘Hoops and Haiku,’ where Poetry met Crochet.
For my creative piece I chose a fictional timeline of the park dating back from when the Montefiores owned the mansion. The timeline was split into four sections.
- The arrival of Sir Francis’s bride, Lady Marianne.
- Mansion owned by School.
- The demolition of the mansion and a high-floored block of flats built in its place.
- Returning to nature.
Below is one of the poems I was inspired to write for my collection, ‘In a Delightful Country,’ which I hope to publish some time next year.
Poetry in the Park
Pulham fountain flows,
children clamber
on stained Jersey cows,
finches flit from tree to tree.
ducks dive,
coots and moorhens chug.
Yarn bombs cuddle bark,
kiss orange fiery branches
under liquid amber’s umbrella.
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I thoroughly enjoyed teaching and operated my workshops in an informal manner: rather than sitting at a desk we’d stroll around the park and I’d prompt the students to talk about what they could see and hear, and what things reminded them of, encouraging similes and metaphors.
For instance when we walked along a stony path, I likened this to the same sound made crunching on a cookie.
We finished off at the local pub, drank coffee, ate cookies and cake, testing for sound, taste, and texture. The students did some free writing to act as a prompt in writing a poem for their homework.
As part of the module we had lots of informative seminars and even a symposium. We met with lots of local artists and writers. Before starting this module, it scared the life out of me, hence one of the reasons I left it to the last, but it was truly rewarding and certainly helped me to gain confidence as a person and writer.
Next time – Final part to the journey – The Dissertation
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Patricia M Osborne 