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 Whitleigh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Creative Writing Whitleigh. Show all posts
Friday, 5 August 2016
Monday, 1 August 2016
Poets and Painters
Poets and Painters ...
We think of poets and painters seperately yet quite a few were multi-talented. The two names of William Blake and Dante Gabriel Rossetti should resonate with you even if you cannot immediately place their work. After the steam of the EU Referendum (aren't we all glad that is out the way?), I wanted to set out a stall on Britishness (note I didn't say Englishness) and our unique ability to absorb other cultures while still impressing the rest of the world with our own home-grown talent.
William Blake (1757-1827) is probably most recognized for his words to the resounding song 'Jerusalem'. We recognise it immediately: 'And did those feet in ancient times walk upon England's mountain green.' Yet few actually realise he was a hugely respected artist and was at one point considered '...one of the greatest artists Britain has ever produced.' Blake started his career as an engraver and was apprenticed to James Basire of Great Queen Street in London. Closely observing the Gothic work of many churches, I personally feel much of his artistic style was affected by the impressions he was working with. Blake later went on to become an art student at The Royal Academy where interestingly he did not take to the work and style of Plymouth's home grown artist, Joshua Reynolds. There was an interesting antagonism between them.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) was British born and the son of an Italian scholar. He was born in London and although his friends called him Gabriel, he used his first name of Dante through preference. He painted in oils using water colour brushes which drew a great curiosity from his artistic observers. Nevertheless, aside from some unique paintings, his poetry has become classic in our tome of the very best.
In both men there is plenty for us to see - and see again. Both born in Britain yet one with links abroad and the other as British as a stick of rock. Note their work: There is a close correlation between painting and poetry. The mind of the artist is relaxed through a brush; the mind of the poet drifts like a conduit through the pen. Find and compare works by both Blake and Rossetti. There are many differences but similarities too.
We think of poets and painters seperately yet quite a few were multi-talented. The two names of William Blake and Dante Gabriel Rossetti should resonate with you even if you cannot immediately place their work. After the steam of the EU Referendum (aren't we all glad that is out the way?), I wanted to set out a stall on Britishness (note I didn't say Englishness) and our unique ability to absorb other cultures while still impressing the rest of the world with our own home-grown talent.
William Blake (1757-1827) is probably most recognized for his words to the resounding song 'Jerusalem'. We recognise it immediately: 'And did those feet in ancient times walk upon England's mountain green.' Yet few actually realise he was a hugely respected artist and was at one point considered '...one of the greatest artists Britain has ever produced.' Blake started his career as an engraver and was apprenticed to James Basire of Great Queen Street in London. Closely observing the Gothic work of many churches, I personally feel much of his artistic style was affected by the impressions he was working with. Blake later went on to become an art student at The Royal Academy where interestingly he did not take to the work and style of Plymouth's home grown artist, Joshua Reynolds. There was an interesting antagonism between them.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) was British born and the son of an Italian scholar. He was born in London and although his friends called him Gabriel, he used his first name of Dante through preference. He painted in oils using water colour brushes which drew a great curiosity from his artistic observers. Nevertheless, aside from some unique paintings, his poetry has become classic in our tome of the very best.
In both men there is plenty for us to see - and see again. Both born in Britain yet one with links abroad and the other as British as a stick of rock. Note their work: There is a close correlation between painting and poetry. The mind of the artist is relaxed through a brush; the mind of the poet drifts like a conduit through the pen. Find and compare works by both Blake and Rossetti. There are many differences but similarities too.
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.
Thursday, 1 October 2015
Acrostic Sonnet for Whitleigh
Acrostic Sonnet for Whitleigh
Wend through these ancient Whitleigh trees
Hiding blooms of Cuckoo Flower,
Infused with misted eau de vie
Time flows by on seasons showers.
Lancaster Gardens; bridle path
Encapsulating ghosts of old,
Indentured men grind plane and lathe
Gladdened nights wrap darkened folds.
Hewing five-bar farm gate and post
Guarding green fields of Budshead Road,
Ribboning west towards the coast;
Echoing Whitleigh Hall's abode.
Elegies sing of hearth and home,
Now here we rest, no more to roam.
(c) Ruth Muttlebury
2015
Wend through these ancient Whitleigh trees
Hiding blooms of Cuckoo Flower,
Infused with misted eau de vie
Time flows by on seasons showers.
Lancaster Gardens; bridle path
Encapsulating ghosts of old,
Indentured men grind plane and lathe
Gladdened nights wrap darkened folds.
Hewing five-bar farm gate and post
Guarding green fields of Budshead Road,
Ribboning west towards the coast;
Echoing Whitleigh Hall's abode.
Elegies sing of hearth and home,
Now here we rest, no more to roam.
(c) Ruth Muttlebury
2015
Friday, 24 April 2015
Whitleigh Words Festival
I am pleased to have been invited along to the Whitleigh Words Festival 2015.
My memories of the Whitleigh area are good ones. My father lived there for a few years after the Second World War in what was then a 'new estate' and my Grandmother lived in Lancaster Gardens from around 1973 to 1984. Both of them had vivid memories of Whitleigh when it was rambling green countryside and ancient woodland before the war changed so much in the Plymouth area.
I will be running a Poetry Walk and a Japanese Poetry Workshop as part of the Festival events. Dates and details can be found on the Whitleigh Word Festival website. Bookings for all workshops with myself and other writers need to be arranged through the contacts shown.
In particular, we must all thank Sandy Wager for working so tirelessly to make the festival happen. She has lined up a galaxy of different activities which all come down to words - and their importance in our lives. Her achievements have been huge in grasping such a wide undertaking and putting the special community of Whitleigh people into a higher profile. Thank you Sandy.
Keep on writing!
Ruth
My memories of the Whitleigh area are good ones. My father lived there for a few years after the Second World War in what was then a 'new estate' and my Grandmother lived in Lancaster Gardens from around 1973 to 1984. Both of them had vivid memories of Whitleigh when it was rambling green countryside and ancient woodland before the war changed so much in the Plymouth area.
I will be running a Poetry Walk and a Japanese Poetry Workshop as part of the Festival events. Dates and details can be found on the Whitleigh Word Festival website. Bookings for all workshops with myself and other writers need to be arranged through the contacts shown.
In particular, we must all thank Sandy Wager for working so tirelessly to make the festival happen. She has lined up a galaxy of different activities which all come down to words - and their importance in our lives. Her achievements have been huge in grasping such a wide undertaking and putting the special community of Whitleigh people into a higher profile. Thank you Sandy.
Keep on writing!
Ruth
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