March 21st was the International Day of Poetry, so a fitting day to run another poetry games workshop.
This time I was invited to a Kent based book club and as well as some profound and often entertaining poems, the discussion that followed really highlighted each participants desire to create a positive narrative within their poem, despite often having both negative sustainable text and poem. Perhaps this desire for positivity is an innate human quality that is often compromised by the negative rhetoric that we are faced with on a daily basis within our media.
As in previous workshops, the accessibility of the exercise was very enjoyable and liberating for the participants, and the joy felt by constructing the poems and decorating the papers was lovely to see.
Here is some feedback from the participants,
What did you find most interesting about this workshop?
“The process of creating something ‘original’ from existing text”
What did you enjoy most about this workshop?
“The interaction with the other people and the exchange of thoughts”
Did anything we discussed during the workshop change your thinking in any way or particularly resonant with you?
“The use of words/language in a new way and the ideas around positive and negative narratives”
Any other comments?
“Jessica lead the discussion in a very considered and thought provoking way. Thank you.”
Below are the finished poems.
