Phew! I’m only part-time as Reader in Residence, so I can hardly complain. And to be fair, the lovely staff here don’t have me on a hamster wheel, nor do they have any instruments of torture (unless you count chocolate), but I feel like my feet have hardly touched the ground this first month.
So, you might be wondering, what on earth have I been up to? Well, I was invited to take part in Poetry for Fearties on National Poetry Day with Wendy (our lovely librarian) and Donna (our wonderful audience development worker, who’s also a talented writer).
Poetry for Fearties was a very well attended event, and I don’t think that was just because of the home made lemon drizzle cake. (Confession: I’ve put on several pounds in weight since starting work here. Imagine if I was full-time; they’d have to call me The Fatty Feminist!)
Anyway, back to Poetry for Fearties. I led the creative writing part of the workshop, using Alice Walker’s powerful poem, ‘Remember’ to provide a pattern. Some amazing poems were produced as a result. A very creative group of Fearties indeed. I was slow off the mark and didn’t prise any of them from their hands, or I would have asked permission to post one or two here.
So if you’d like to have a go at writing a poem. (Go on! It’s fun. Honest.) Then here’s an easy way to get started.
First: read through Alice Walker’s poem ‘Remember’ a couple of times. (It’s at the foot of this post.) Alice has based this poem on her own life, her own experience. That’s where the best poetry comes from. As a child she had an accident with a shotgun, which explains the references to the ‘wounded eye’ and the ‘melted ear’.
Second: Note the pattern she uses in the poems. (Poems form patterns, though that’s not always easy to see.) The pattern here starts with ‘I am the girl who’. Think back to your own childhood. Blast out a list of things -a favourite toy or dress, something you loved doing, something you were teased for doing. You might choose both happy and sad memories. Now choose those that seem strongest to you and start your poem. For example I might begin:
Remember me?
I am the girl who loved to whistle
to race round and round on my bike.
I am the girl in the lemon cotton dress
with the twigs in my hair
and grazes on my knees.
I am the girl who fretted over my work
whose fingernails always seemed filled with dirt
See how easy it is?
Then, when you feel you’ve built up an image of the child you, write the line
Now I am the woman who
and write some lines about yourself now. For example, I might write
Now I am the woman who
still loves to whistle
who has brought three children into the world
who eats too much cake
who cries every time another war breaks out
another child dies hungry
Now, think about how Alice Walker brings her poem to a conclusion. She names what she would give to the world. What would you, as a grown woman, give to the world?
You might like to think of a metaphor (an image) that would add something to the poem and represent your gift. But don’t worry if you can’t think of anything. Now read back over your poem. Read the lines out loud so you can hear the flow and the rhythm.
And there you have it! A beautiful poem.
If you do try writing your own ‘Remember’ poem, I’d love to read it. Just email it to me at magigibson@womenslibrary.org.uk
Or if you’d like to read more poetry but aren’t sure where to start, then email me and I’ll see if I can help. If you’d like to meet to chat a bit more about books and writing, then I’d be happy to meet you in the library. Tuesdays and Thursdays are best, but do email first to book a time.
Happy reading and writing!
Magi
GWL has a good selection of books by Alice Walker, including both poetry collections and novels
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Remember?
Remember me?
I am the girl
with the dark skin
whose shoes are thin
I am the girl with rotted teeth
I am the dark
rotten-toothed girl
with the wounded eye
and the melted ear.
I am the girl
holding their babies
cooking their meals
sweeping their yards
washing their clothes
Dark and rotting
and wounded, wounded.
I would give
to the human race
only hope.
I am the woman
with the blessed
dark skin
I am the woman
with teeth repaired
I am the woman
with the healing eye
the ear that hears.
I am the woman: Dark,
repaired, healed
listening to you.
I would give
to the human race
only hope.
I am the woman
offering two flowers
whose roots
are twin
Justice and Hope
Let us begin.
by Alice Walker (from Horses make a Landscape Look More Beautiful)
