To mark the opening of the new Whitleigh Community Hub, a wide variety of events are being compiled for everyone at a Taster Day on 25 August 2016. I look forward to seeing the wide range of activities on display and talking with other artists, writers and musicians.
After this event, I will be running two creative writing workshops - dates and times to be advised. Keep an eye on my Blog and on the Facebook page for Sandy Wager Arts and Crafts. Sandy is closely involved with the new hub and will be advertising events as they are announced.
Showing posts with label Creative Writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Creative Writing. Show all posts
Friday, 5 August 2016
Wednesday, 3 February 2016
Hidden Bookshops and their Treasures
I love exploring second hand bookshops. They offer not just a fantastic range of books which are largely are out of print, but occasionally a glimpse of marginalia scribbled by an enthusiastic reader, the occasional lost postcard used as a bookmark or simply the name of a previous owner circa 1916 or earlier. As someone with a reasonable imagination, pictures form in my mind quite quickly.
While visiting Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk last year, I encountered a little shop selling second hand books to raise a few funds for the National Trust. Paying a small sum for a copy of: Poetry and Appreciation by A. F. Scott (published in 1952), I remain intrigued that something so small and plain holds such a treasure of explanation to many poems and their techniques.
A tip here for example, on lyrical poetry:
'The total meaning of a poem consists of thought, feeling, attitude and intention. It is conveyed by the words and their arrangement. The rhythm produced welds the poem together and gives it a significance beyond any prose rendering. It is only by a close scrutiny of all the qualities of the words (meaning, sound, associations), and also of the ordering of the rhythm, that the poem can be understood and in its value estimated.
Remember that you must judge the poet in accordance with what he is trying to do. He may do anything he pleases, provided he can do it.'
I trust critics of Michael Sullivan, the first Poet Laureate in Plymouth will think about this before they criticise any further. They reacted unprofessionally, to a letter sent to The Herald from a range of artists and writers in the Plymouth area who defended the Poet Laureate, commending him for his hard and unpaid work to promote literature in Plymouth. The insults (mainly from academics and sycophants associated with them), still seem to flow. They have pretty much started a death knell on Plymouth being taken seriously as a cultural and literary venue. They have also quashed enthusiasm for many local writers to meet and discuss their work for fear of continued trouble and ridicule. Some very big ego's have gone too far.
While visiting Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk last year, I encountered a little shop selling second hand books to raise a few funds for the National Trust. Paying a small sum for a copy of: Poetry and Appreciation by A. F. Scott (published in 1952), I remain intrigued that something so small and plain holds such a treasure of explanation to many poems and their techniques.
A tip here for example, on lyrical poetry:
'The total meaning of a poem consists of thought, feeling, attitude and intention. It is conveyed by the words and their arrangement. The rhythm produced welds the poem together and gives it a significance beyond any prose rendering. It is only by a close scrutiny of all the qualities of the words (meaning, sound, associations), and also of the ordering of the rhythm, that the poem can be understood and in its value estimated.
Remember that you must judge the poet in accordance with what he is trying to do. He may do anything he pleases, provided he can do it.'
I trust critics of Michael Sullivan, the first Poet Laureate in Plymouth will think about this before they criticise any further. They reacted unprofessionally, to a letter sent to The Herald from a range of artists and writers in the Plymouth area who defended the Poet Laureate, commending him for his hard and unpaid work to promote literature in Plymouth. The insults (mainly from academics and sycophants associated with them), still seem to flow. They have pretty much started a death knell on Plymouth being taken seriously as a cultural and literary venue. They have also quashed enthusiasm for many local writers to meet and discuss their work for fear of continued trouble and ridicule. Some very big ego's have gone too far.
Saturday, 8 August 2015
Creative Writing Workshop on Russian Literature and it's importance to Western Literary Culture
Last year I ran a creative writing workshop near Plymouth where we focused on the styles of the Russian writers. Each literary gem has something to teach us.
The first image of Russia is one of bleak Siberian winters, heavy fur coats, Communism and the Kremlin. Scratch behind this imagery and you will find something far different. All of this is reflected in their highly successful literature which stands as a classic on the world stage.
What is their technique? Don't forget many writers who put their feelings onto paper were locked up and/or disappeared under the Communist regime. Some will say things haven't changed. However, as artists we are not here to judge that per se. We just want to look and enjoy.
If you want to get started on a good Russian short story then look no further than Anton Chekhov. His short story The Cherry Orchard stands alone as a wonderful work of art which grasps the cusp of change in 'old' Russia when we see that a family hanging onto old, traditional standards are 'in the way' of financial property development. It shows the first type of capitalism entering Russia when the poor peasant is no longer poor. Servant turned master and all the rest of it. At the end of the story, only the truly traditional servant is left caring about the family, the house and the orchards. Money talks.
At school, a truly wonderful teacher of Literature, Mrs Barbara Allen, took us through some of the work of Nikolay Vasilyevich Gogol. Gogol carries something into his work which makes us all look at ourselves from time to time. He puts his finger on the pulse of human frailties. If you haven't read any of his work then it's worth a try.
Russian Flash Fiction? How about reading some of the work of Mikhail Mikhailovich Zoshchenko to give you a stunning overview. Quick reads such as The Bathhouse, The Galosh and The Hat are food for thought.
In Russia it was important to be successful in both the short story form and poetry before even contemplating the novel. It was a true marathon. So, if you haven't yet looked at Russian literature then it is worth a go and is something more accessible than you think.
The first image of Russia is one of bleak Siberian winters, heavy fur coats, Communism and the Kremlin. Scratch behind this imagery and you will find something far different. All of this is reflected in their highly successful literature which stands as a classic on the world stage.
What is their technique? Don't forget many writers who put their feelings onto paper were locked up and/or disappeared under the Communist regime. Some will say things haven't changed. However, as artists we are not here to judge that per se. We just want to look and enjoy.
If you want to get started on a good Russian short story then look no further than Anton Chekhov. His short story The Cherry Orchard stands alone as a wonderful work of art which grasps the cusp of change in 'old' Russia when we see that a family hanging onto old, traditional standards are 'in the way' of financial property development. It shows the first type of capitalism entering Russia when the poor peasant is no longer poor. Servant turned master and all the rest of it. At the end of the story, only the truly traditional servant is left caring about the family, the house and the orchards. Money talks.
At school, a truly wonderful teacher of Literature, Mrs Barbara Allen, took us through some of the work of Nikolay Vasilyevich Gogol. Gogol carries something into his work which makes us all look at ourselves from time to time. He puts his finger on the pulse of human frailties. If you haven't read any of his work then it's worth a try.
Russian Flash Fiction? How about reading some of the work of Mikhail Mikhailovich Zoshchenko to give you a stunning overview. Quick reads such as The Bathhouse, The Galosh and The Hat are food for thought.
In Russia it was important to be successful in both the short story form and poetry before even contemplating the novel. It was a true marathon. So, if you haven't yet looked at Russian literature then it is worth a go and is something more accessible than you think.
Thursday, 21 May 2015
Looking at Japanese Poetry
In due course I will be running a workshop as part of the Whitleigh Words Festival 2015 on Japanese Poetry. Below is a poem which caught my eye several years ago and was written by Tamura Ryuichi, Japan's most popular modern poet:
A Man Who Writes a Poem
A man who writes a poem
floats in space
No one can tell
where the buoyancy comes from
A man who writes a poem
is like a pianist
whose hands are already moving
before the key's been chosen consciously
His hands precede him
His hands caught by the sound cannot escape
which is why they struggle
The sound guides the hands
and the hands
trying to escape the sound
drag him along
somewhere
Where?
To see the shape
of a man writing a poem
Jump off the highest place in the world
upside down
And then your falling eye the wrong way up
might catch a glimpse
of a man writing a poem
floating in space
inside the gloom
----------------------------------------
We will look at this and more traditional styles of Japanese Poetry. Workshop details available through the Whitleigh Words Festival website.
A Man Who Writes a Poem
A man who writes a poem
floats in space
No one can tell
where the buoyancy comes from
A man who writes a poem
is like a pianist
whose hands are already moving
before the key's been chosen consciously
His hands precede him
His hands caught by the sound cannot escape
which is why they struggle
The sound guides the hands
and the hands
trying to escape the sound
drag him along
somewhere
Where?
To see the shape
of a man writing a poem
Jump off the highest place in the world
upside down
And then your falling eye the wrong way up
might catch a glimpse
of a man writing a poem
floating in space
inside the gloom
----------------------------------------
We will look at this and more traditional styles of Japanese Poetry. Workshop details available through the Whitleigh Words Festival website.
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