Poetry of Place
In these two workshops we will explore the bond between place and person, themes of home and displacement, loss and recovery, and place as an anchor for larger concerns. We will look at examples of contemporary poems about place and explore our own experiences of place through writing exercises.
These workshops will be on Zoom, Wednesday 8th and 15th May, 7.00 to 9.00 pm.
Cost £40
To book contact me at moyradonaldson@yahoo.co.uk
It is always exciting and a bit nerve wracking to get a commission for a poem. Can I do it? Will the person or organisation who has requested it like it? Can I write something that will please both them and me?
A while back, I was asked to write a poem about the starling murmuration in Belfast. The poem would be part of a larger project set up by the creative company, Quotidian, and was to culminate in an augmented reality display, a launch and readings in Lanyon Place train station, just opposite to where the birds roosted at night. A great place to watch the their ariel displays.
Problem was that when I started to research the topic I discovered that the starlings had left Belfast. The new lighting installed by the council to provide brighter streets for pedestrians had disturbed the starling flock and they had moved away from their roosts beneath the Albert Bridge. So the poem at once became something different. I decided to both celebrate the wonder of the murmuration – and mourn its loss. Here is the result.
Lost from the Luminous City
Dark beaks, short tails,
pointed heads, triangular wings,
feathered black with shimmering sheens
of purple and petrol green, colours
iridesce, an impossible midnight rainbow,
dark and velvety.
Gregarious and garrulous, each
a boisterous carbon copy of the other,
collective fragments of the one flock
feasting on insects and farmers’ crops
before returning to their roosts
beneath the Albert Bridge,
chattering and clattering, raucous
soundtrack for weary workers
on winter evenings, heading home
under the ordinary magic;
fluid choreography of funnels,
ribbons, spills, mixing, ever moving,
swirling and pulsating, wildly twisting
as if some extraordinary brush is inking
the blue dusk of sky with nature’s calligraphy,
geometric to organic, material to ethereal,
reality to dream, endless flux of wonderment
to bafflement: the starling murmuration. Gone.
In some good news, shortly after the poem was written and events held in the train station, and after pressure from various ecology organisations, the council adjusted the lighting and now the birds are starting to return. I like to imagine that the poem helped in some small way!
It’s that time of the year when the veil between the worlds begins to thin! For the Celts of ancient Britain and Ireland, All Hallow’s Eve, or Halloween, has its origin in the festival of Samhain, but many cultures have similar traditions. Mexico has its Day of the Dead, Japan has Oban – a Spirit festival. An element of all these festivals, is the honouring of ancestors.
In this workshop we will discuss poetry’s relationship to ancestors, ghosts and otherworldly visitations and look at some examples of haunted poems; some intimate and loving – some spooky.
The workshop will take place online via Zoom, on Saturday 28th October, 10.00am to 12.00 noon. Cost £15. To book a place contact me at moyradonaldson@yahoo.co.uk or on FB messenger.
A good few years ago I wrote a poem called, Nature Study. It was, in part, a tribute to my primary school teacher, Miss Walker who instilled in me a love of nature and the lovely names for things in the natural world. This year the poem was included in the Poetry Jukebox curation, Forage and the jukebox is in the Lime Kiln at Castle Espie bird reserve.
Last night I was at an event when a woman approached me and said that she had been in a poetry reading group, on zoom, during covid lockdown and someone had shared Nature Study to the group. She told me that she was Miss Walker’s niece and had recognised her aunt in the poem. I told her about the jukebox in Castle Espie and that I’d recently read the poem for a BBC 3 morning programme coming from Castle Espie. I showed her a photo of my granddaughter listening to the poem on the jukebox. She then told me that Castle Espie was one of her aunt’s favourite places and even when she was in her 90s and confined to a wheelchair she loved to go there to be surrounded by birds and nature.
Isn’t it wonderful how the threads of experience and time sometimes connect so beautifully and unexpectedly.
Fruitful Autumn
These workshops are designed to encourage a harvest of poems. Each workshop will provide prompts and examples of contemporary writing, designed to spark the ideas that lead to new work. In an encouraging and supportive environment, participants will be encouraged to commit to regular writing and will have opportunities for feedback on their work.
They will run from 12th September until 17th October, Tuesday evenings 7.00 – 9.00 pm.
Cost £120
For more information, or to book a place, email moyradonaldson@yahoo.co.uk
Writing Against the Dark – what we ignore will never forgive us.
With so much that is frightening and unknown in our everyday lives, does poetry have a role? In this series of workshops we will look at how poems can challenge, comfort and speak truth. The value of our voices. We will seek inspiration in the everyday, from the planet where we live and our place in the cosmos. From our human experiences, both comforting and troubling. In what we can’t ignore.
The course is designed to be both encouraging and supportive but at the same time to challenge participants to extend their skills. Workshops will involve reading of contemporary poems, writing exercises and prompts, and opportunities for feedback on participants work.
Workshops will take place on Zoom, Tuesday evenings 7.00pm to 9.00pm. Start date 27th September, for 8 weeks. Last workshop 22nd November. Cost £150. Payment by bank transfer or PayPal.
Contact me at moyradonaldson@yahoo.co.uk to book a place – or if there is anything you would like to ask, please just get in touch.
Did you know that a white Chrysanthemum symbolises truth? Or Lily of the Valley the return of happiness? This workshop will look at the meanings ascribed to flowers and explore some ‘flowery’ poems, providing prompts for creating your own posy of poems.
Date – 9th August 7.00 – 9.00pm via zoom.
Cost £20 payable via PayPal
Message me if you would like to join this workshop. Suitable for everyone.
To celebrate the one year anniversary of Bone House, anyone who orders a copy of it, or of Carnivorous, will receive a free copy of The Horse’s Nest or Snakeskin Stilettos. Just let me know which you would prefer. Books can be ordered through the website. This offer will run until the end of the month.
Happy Easter everyone!
A lovely, considered review of Bone House by poet Orla Fay.
Now that we have moved into the new year, perhaps it’s the right time to think of signing up for some workshops. I’ve been facilitating this series for Macha Productions over the last couple of years via zoom and have had some great feedback from participants. If you would like to jump start your poetry and develop new work, this is an opportunity to do that in the company of other poets. Designed to be both supportive and encouraging – the link is below – or if you would like some more information – just get in touch
Moyra Donaldson 