Ahead of the official Launch of our Changing Landscapes anthology on 28th November I am pleased to have received two boxes of books.
I thoroughly enjoyed the process of collating the contributions, editing and designing the layout and creating the cover design. It has been a privilege to work with these writers.
The poems in this anthology are created by local writers who came together through a series of workshops. Some are very experienced poets whilst others are just setting out on their poetic odysseys. The poets supported and inspired each other and the result is a collection that explores a range of styles and approaches.
We have included several “concrete poems”, where the words and visual shape combine to enhance to the subject. We also include a dialect poem along with an illustration created by the poet..
Some poems speak directly to the “Changing Landscapes” theme, whilst others are less direct. Some poets considered the changes observed through the seasons, as the light changes throughout a single day, or during a brief journey.
We hope that the variety of approach adopted by the poets helps to reflect the varied nature of the changing landscapes around our homes on the edge of the Pennines.
The quality of the poetry from the contributors is really good and the range of responses to our local landscapes has been really inspirational.
Fridays 10am to 12noon – 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th Sept, 3rd Oct
In September I will be leading a series of poetry workshops where we will look at the landscapes around Littleborough and the surrounding hills and moors. There will be plenty of inspiration, discussion and poetic hints and tips to enable participants to write some poetry to be proud of.
An anthology of poems created from these sessions will be published and distributed in a large print format making it accessible for people who might not be able to access poetry in the typical smaller print sizes. A launch event for the book will be announced once a date can be finalised and all contributing poets will have the chance to read some of their work at the launch.
Bookings are currently open. There is a charge of £25, payable at the first session, which covers the 5 workshops and a copy of the anthology. Places are limited and can be booked by emailing Liz White at: lizwhitecreative@gmail.com
One of the sessions, 12th September (weather permitting), will consist of a field trip to explore and discuss the local landscapes.
This project is supported with funding from Grantscape and organised by Liz White for Create and Connect.
We still have a few places left on our poetry workshops at Hare Hill House on Saturday 28th June.
There are two workshops to choose from both running from 10am to 12noon.
Becky May will be running a Contemporary Poetry session while I will running a Nature poetry session. The workshops cost just £5 per person and you can book by emailing Liz white – lizwhitecreative@gmail.com or myself – seamus@onepoetsvision.co.uk
After the workshops there will be poetry performances and then in the afternoon Yorkshire poet and author Gaia Holmes will be discussing her work, including her recently published collection of short stories “He used to do dangerous things”. The afternoon session is free of charge and all are welcome.
This promises to be an enjoyable and productive day of poetry in the historic Hare Hill House in Littleborough.
If you are a nature lover you probably already know how being outside among plants, trees and all kinds of wildlife, can help lift your mood and make you feel good. But did you know that recording your experiences, observations and thoughts can multiply those benefits?
Last weekend my wife, Maggie, and I ran nature journaling session at the Hollingworth Lake Country Park. We all had a great time with a nature work, tips for finding subjects to write about and a range of ways to make illustrations. The participants were shown how you can make a journal using various kinds of paper and they also learned some watercolour techniques to create a nice, and quick, illustration of bluebells.
One of our participants even climbed a tree while the other had a sit down in a den made of branches at the bottom of the tree.
We were really impressed by the enthusiasm, skills and knowledge of those people who came along and really happy to send them home with their own jounaling journey underway.
We were also delighted with the feedback, some of which is shown below:
“Want to do more” “Lovely, awesome” “Thanks very much for this afternoon. I really enjoyed it, much better than I thought I would. It has certainly inspired me and given me confidence to learn more and develop new skills.” “Would be great if there was a journalling group” “Loved seeing lots of different ways of making images” “It was great to spend time on what’s meaningful”
Exhibition Launch, Wardle Library, Sat 22nd March 2025
It was lovely to be asked to run a creative workshop to write a collaborative poem for a Community Threads Project and exhibition in Wardle.
The poetry workshop on Tuesday evening was really productive with enthusiasm and lots of great input from participants, who ranged from those who haven’t written poetry to experienced and award winning writers. All made great contributions that will be reflected in the final work.
The project has involved making a range of artwork inspired by the village, including, painting, textiles, photography and model making. The exhibition opens from 11am to 1pm, on Saturday 22nd March, with free badge making and refreshments. The Mayor will be opening the exhibition and I will be privileged to read the poem, titled “Our Wardle” at the opening event.
The Vibe charity and project in Rochdale has sadly come to the end of its time. Writing this post feels akin to writing an obituary. Issues around availability of premises, securing continued funding and the age of founding members, mean that it is time to close at the end of this year. Vibe has truly been an incredible success and has benefitted many young people in terms of wellbeing, resilience and skills.
Vibe has been part of my life since 2015 when I first became involved as a freelance writer in the Stories We Can Tell project. Our work at Vibe has always been led by the young people who are supported to use creativity but never pressured. People do well in a supportive and encouraging atmosphere, and at Vibe they can be themselves while joining in with all kinds of creative activity.
At Vibe I’ve been able to work with young people writing anything from novella length stories to poetry and lyrics, and help with art, photography, woodwork and even guitar building. Vibe also gave me the opportunity to work alongside creative practitioners from other fields, like music, photography, craft, art and film-making, sharing ideas and skills. The team at Vibe always support each other and we consider ourselves as friends, not just colleagues.
Although it is sad to be saying goodbye to this amazing project this will not really be the end as the skills we’ve all been developing will no doubt be used with others in the future and friendships will endure.
I’m really looking forward to delivering a brand new workshop on Nature Writing, this Thursday 24th October, for the Riverside Writing Group.
I have always had an insatiable interest in the natural world and from a young age have looked at, read about, drawn, and photographed nature. Much of my own writing looks at the way that human society and individuals interact with nature, both in positive and negative ways.
This workshop will look at what Nature Writing means, it will provide hints, inspiration and the opportunity to create some new work in any style, and of course it should be both enlightening and fun.
As always with Riverside Writers workshops this will be free of charge and takes place in Rochdale Central Library from 10am to 12noon. You don’t need any experience as a writer to take part nor do you need any expertise in the natural world – just a pen, paper and your thoughts. All welcome – the more the merrier!
I’ve created this workshop on behalf of Cartwheel Arts for FestiDale, from the Royal Exchange Theatre, at Kingsway Park High School in Rochdale.
The theme is “I come from” and participants will be able to write about the things that make us who we are, and most importantly the things that make us happy.
There will be examples, discussion, templates and support and your words can be shared with others at the session. This workshop is open to both new and experienced writers and all materials and support will be provided. You can book a place online on a pay what you feel basis (from only £1) on the FestiDale website https://www.royalexchange.co.uk/season/the-festidale/.
Looking forward to seeing and hearing the work that will be produced.
Tomorrow I will be delivering my first session as part of this Summer’s HAF (Health, Activity and Food) programme for Your Trust at Junction Library in Middleton.
The theme for these sessions is “The Animal Olympics”. Inspired by the recent Olympic Games in Paris the story and associated materials imagines an Olympic Games where the competitors are animals representing their countries.
There are competitors from the same continents taking part in events that are similar to those we have seen in Paris. Does everything go as planned? Who wins the medals?
All will become clear tomorrow and the children will be able to create their own versions and pictures. Promises to be a fun session.
Over the next couple of months I’m excited to be involved in several writing projects in Rochdale borough.
Firstly I will be working with Cartwheel Arts to deliver a project for Deeplish Community Centre as part of their 35th anniversary celebrations. I will be working alongside local artist Rahela Khan and am looking forward to seeing the work we can produce.
Secondly I will be delivering a workshop for a group of young people as part of the same project in Deeplish.
Thirdly I am starting prepations for some brand new creative writing sessions for young people aged 5 to 11 themed in the Paris Olympics taking place this summer. These will be delivered with Your Trust, and i will be bringing a completely new slant to the topic.
Finally I am working on a special commissioned poem for release in the summer – as yet I cannot divulge more, but it is Rochdale focused and I look forward to working with the commissioning organisation. Its a big one and I’m really excited to develop and share it when I can.
A busy few months but there will still be time to continue with my own writing projects and working with young people at Vibe Rochdale.
Having recovered from the Covid, that kept me away from the first session of this project, I was delighted to be back at Hare Hill House in Littleborough to lead today’s session face to face.
The project will run for 6 weeks to create poetry influenced by the area around the Rochdale Canal and Calderbrook from the former Rock Nook Mill to Summit in Littleborough.
Today we talked about thinking like a poet and among the props used for a writing exercise was my lovely compact Metronome (pictured here).
The poets then used information provided, about the famous Summit Tunnel and Rock Nook Mill, as inspiration to start crafting some new poetry.
At the end of the project we will publish a large print book containing selected poems produced by all of the participants.
Today it was great to meet some new writers and share inspiration and ideas. This is a very friendly and vibrant l group of writers and I’m very confident that there will be some excellent poetry to publish.
This project comes from an idea from Liz White who has worked on planning and secured funding so that we can bring poetry writing opportunities to Littleborough and produce work which is available to local people including those with visual impairments.
