Wednesday 6 April 2011

Day 303: Cliff Yates

The other day I was lucky enough to take part in two sessions lead by the poet, Cliff Yates. One of them was for ten year olds and the other was for teachers, so I pretty much got the best of both worlds!

He's always written poetry, but for 31 years he was also an English teacher, so he has lost of experience working with children, teenagers and teachers.

During his session he passed on some great words of wisdom which I scribbled down to share with you. The most intriguing for creative folk like us is this nugget:

Moments of waiting are always interesting.

Many moons ago, I wrote about this very subject on Day 77. Waiting. When you are sitting with a blank canvas piece of paper, sheet music, dance floor in front of you to fill, there is a time when you wait for your brain to work out what to do with it. After a question has been asked and the class wait for someone to answer. You know most people are thinking of an answer. Think of all those ideas that stay silent because only one is told. What could you do with all those other answers...?

Don't be afraid of waiting. It's useful. It's thinking time. Thinking often produces creativity, so it's all good! If you have an idea, why not wait for another. It might be better!

What are you waiting for?

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