Day 332: Nature in the Urban Jungle

As spring gets ever more vibrant, I've started to notice lots of strange things. This morning when I was waiting for a lift at the side of the road, a blue tit caught my eye as it flew and landed in the road. Next to it on the road was a big spider, obviously injured. My guess was the blue tit saw the chance of a tasty snack, but before it could eat it a car came and the bird shot out of the way. It didn't return for the rest of the time I stood there. I watched the spider struggle, round in circles. Car tyres missed it by inches each time. No one notices a little spider in the urban jungle.

I find it bazaar when nature interacts with city life. Yesterday, I saw a hedgehog scamper across the empty road at midnight as I walked home from work. It's the second one I've seen wandering the street of Bath this spring. Where are they going? Have they just woken up from hibernation and looking for food? Come to think of it, I don't even know what hedgehogs eat. Isn't it crazy the thing we don't know about animals that live all around us?

This morning when I went into Saltford Primary School we were talking all about animals, which I thought was weird with all the interaction I've have had with them lately. We wrote poems based on Mandy Coe's poem, Invitation from a mole. Can you guess what animal I am writing about?

Invitation from a ...
Roll in the dirt
and    take   time
feeling
as you ripple along.
Bits get stuck but
no bother.
What was dry
becomes moist as you
                                   edge
                                        closer
to the sweet, crunchy, succulent
leaf.
It's worth the                    wait.

Day 309: Art and Poetry Collaborations

Today in class we were talking about combining art and poetry and how it could work. Generally, people that write poetry aren't that great at visuals, but people who are good with visuals (painting, sculpture, graphic design etc) aren't that great at poetry. Usually people have one specific creative gift they lean towards, but I find that create things I'm no good at (like dance) really inspire me to get creative with words. It's good to work with people of different creative disaplines so we can learn from each other, don't you think?

So how do we make visuals and poetry come together? Which do you enjoy? Do you know anyone who's good at the other? Why not have a chat and see where it goes...?

When I did some digging I found all sorts of collaborations going on. This video was created by James Wray, using typography to animate Robert Frost's 'Mending Wall' poem.

> This poetry sculpture was produced by poet, Linda France and blacksmith, William Pym.



What could you do...?

Day 308: Zombie poetry...

So, today, I thought I'd post up a little poem I wrote the last time I went in and helped the Year Fives at Saltford Primary. I am by no means a poet, but it's fun just to play around with words and ideas, not to make anything important out of it, but just to get your creative juices flowing, you know?

In class Cliff Yates, the poet (see Day) asked the class to write down a thing (like a fish or a tennis ball) and then briefly describe it. I wrote 'A Piano: melodies played on black and white keys.'

Then we jumbled them all up so the things were in one pile and the descriptions were in another. Cliff read them out in a random order and then we wrote a poem with one word and one description. This is what I wrote:

TV is the walking Dead

It sits, still
unchanged by its endless dribble
that leaks from its front in
cyan, magenta, yellow and black.

Its eye shines,
lighting up the living room
with flickers and flashes at night.
Watching, unblinking, alive but not living.

It moves unbalanced from sports fields
to deserts. From dog rescue centres
 to streets of shoppers.
Unaware, unchanged, not caring one bit.

You sit, still
in front of it now, transfixed
by its stare, without thought or care.
Its drawing you in, beware.

Try it yourself and see what you can come up with. Here's some other ideas we put together to start you off:
- A piano that snorts and stinks.
- Frost is something you write with.
- A flame thrower jumps from tree to tree.
- A pen is someone that looks out for you and helps you when you're stuck.

Could any of these inspire your creative work today?

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?

Day 291: Advice poems

Ordinarily I don't really write poetry, but when I was at primary school yesterday, I really enjoyed turning advice into poetry. My efforts are by no means amazing, but the thing about creativity is, it can just be for fun. It doesn't always have to be serious and purposeful.

So, if you fancy it, write an advice poem with me. First off, write down a list of advice people have given you. It can be general advice or more personal. Just the first things that come into your head will be great.

Turns out nine year olds are given the best advice. One boy came up with, 'don't climb on the shed and then do a back flip off of it.' If that was the first bit of advice that came to him, it tells you an awful lot about his character!

Anyway, this is the poem I came up with. It's about the contradiction and frustration of other people's advice. I'm pretty sure you'll know where I'm coming from...

Get a dog, a companion for life.
No, don't do that. They pee on the kitchen floor.
Get insurance, to safe guard your stuff.
No, don't do that. You're just wasting your money.
Get a watch, to always be prompt.
No, don't do that. Live life on the edge.
Get the bus, to help save the earth.
No, don't do that. They're so unreliable.
Get out more, see the world's wonders.
No, don't do that. It's far too expensive.

What is yours like? Feel free to share them. Everyone needs some advice from time to time.

Day 276: Poetry Archive

This morning I have been looking at loads of children's poems on the poetry archive and they are great. So much imagery. There were funny ones, poignant ones, peculiar ones and loads more in between. Snake hotels, iguanas, battles, even scissors!

Take a look for yourself. There's an adults site too if you fancy. Even if you've only got five minutes, see if you can be inspired to get creative from poets who are writing now...you can even listen to the poet read them to you!

Here's a few I particularly liked:

The Sssnake Hotel by Brian Moses

Walking with my Iguana by Brian Moses

Winter by Judith Nicholls

Please Mrs Butler by Allan Ahlberg

Day 261: Performance Poetry

So last night I went to an event in Bath called 'words.' There were loads of people cramped into a tiny little coffee bar with a little microphone in the corner (to be honest, it probably wasn't needed by hey ho).

All in all, I had a pretty good night. I enjoyed listening to all these creative people and admiring how they'd managed their thoughts into a poem or two.

What struck me was how different their deliverance was. Some people read from their notebooks, mumbling or reading too fast, but others had memorised their poems. The difference was amazing. The ones who spoke without words in front of them were so much more confident. They added emphasise and feelings, moving their hands, arms or even their entire body to the rhythm of their words, like they were using all of themselves to share their poem with me.

It's funny really. You'd think the people who had books in front of them would be more confident. You can't forget them if they're right there in front of you. But actually, knowing your words means you don't have to concentrate on reading, but on saying. Isn't that what performance poetry is all about?

Just to give you a flavour of performance poetry, check out Anna Freedman at a poetry slam in Vancouver, Canada:

Day 177: write a book in 30 days!

My friend sent me this list on Facebook and she called it a 30 day challenge. At first it just looked like a list of things you can do each day, but then I thought, why not WRITE about these things everyday? You could write 1 chapter each day, and hey presto, you got a autobiography on you hands!

Or, if a book's not your thing, why not write a song each day, based on the topic. Or if you're really feeling creative, do a drawing, an animation, a dance...

Whatever you do, see if you can use this 30 day challenge to help your work. Give it a go if you think your hard enough:

Day 1: introduce yourself
Day 2: Your first love
Day 3: Your parents
Day 4: What you ate today
Day 5: Your definition of love
Day 6: Your day
Day 7: Your best friend
Day 8: A moment
Day 9: Your beliefs
Day 10: What you wore today
Day 11: Your siblings
Day 12: What's in your bag
Day 13: This week
Day 14: Nicest thing ever said to you
Day 15: Your dreams
Day 16: Your first kiss
Day 17: Your favourite memory
Day 18: Your favourite birthday
Day 19: Something you regret
Day 20: This month
Day 21: Another moment
Day 22: Something that upsets you
Day 23: Something that makes you feel better
Day 24: Something that makes you cry
Day 25: A first
Day 26: Your fears
Day 27: Your favourite place
Day 28: Something that you miss
Day 29: Your aspirations
Day 30: One last moment.

Day 157: Reminiscing with Helen Cross

Today I went into the little primary school in Saltford as I always do, but this morning, Helen Cross came with us. She got the class thinking about what they would miss if they left home for a holiday or wherever. We looked at a poem by Grace Nichols called, Like a Beacon, where she misses her mum's home cooking from Jamaica.

It was all very pleasant until I thought, hang on, I'm away from home right now! Uni is one of those strange times in your life when you have two homes, but neither of them feel quite right. When I'm home with my family I miss my home at uni and vise versa.

So, as I'm at Uni, I was thinking about my family home five hours away and this came out of it:

Opening the fridge and picking at fresh grapes,
five varieties of cheese, crisp cucumber,
red peppers and thick yogurt.
Bracken and Bramble sleeping, stretched out lazily
on the most comfortable sofa imaginable,
or curled up by the hissing fire.
Being surrounded by my dad's teddy-bear hugs.

Kind of a poem, I guess. What would you miss? I don't know about you, but thinking about it makes me really want to be there. All that feeling and emotion...

Try writing a list of what you'd miss and put those ideas, feelings, senses into your creative work somehow, whether it be writing, painting, animation, music, dance, drama...Using what we know from our own lives touches other people's lives and that's the power of creativity.

Work with what you got and see how far it reaches...

Day 124: Creative Research

Today's question is, how can we, as creative people, ever produce anything new if we don't know what's come before us?

If you are a poet and you don't read other poet's work, how can you ever be sure you aren't covering old ground? If you are an artist and you don't go to galleries and look at other's work, how do you know if you are producing an original idea?

Is there even such a thing as an original idea? Some would say no. But, my point is that whatever you are into, you need to know what has come before you. Even if it is only to get inspiration. After all, if something inspires you, you don't just copy it, you make it your own.

My challenge for you today is to do some 'research'. Read, watch, listen, to something that interests you and learn from what has come before.

As a writer, I am constantly reading. If I don't know what's out there, how can I ever be fresh? Plus, it's a great way to learn and I'm doing what I love! David Almond said, 'a book is influenced by all the books the author loves.' So, I better get reading!

Be inspired by what's come before you and put your own mark on it...

Day 122: National Poetry Day

Today is Britain's National Poetry Day and I thought it only right to give it a mention on a creative blog. If it's the day of poetry, then we all better get on and write some!

Luckily for you guys, I've been writing poetry with 10 year olds today. If they can do it, I'm pretty sure you can. So, here goes...

We were looking at William Blake's Tyger, Tyger poem, which asks questions of a tiger and its maker. So here is my challenge for you:

Think of an animal, probably your favourite animal.

Then ask it a question.

Next, answer the question as if you were the animal.

These three things put together make a verse of your very own poem. Here's mine to help you out:

Panda! Oh, panda!
Why are your eyes so black?
I cried and cried for my dearest friend and now I'm stuck like this,
and now I'm stuck like this

Panda! Oh, panda!
Why do you eat so much?
I munch and munch to fill my belly or else I'll surely starve,
or else I'll surely starve.

So, that's my effort. Bit morbid perhaps, but not bad I'd say. I've managed to get a few senses in there and a bit of Chinese legend too (they say Panda's eyes are black because they rubbed ashes on them to mourn their good human friend who looked after them. Fact!).

So, why not have a go, eh? It is National Poetry Day after all! Get creative with your favourite animal. The kids I worked with today made up poems about ants, gorillas, hamsters and ducks! Cool huh.

What will you write about...?

Day 107: Mandy Coe

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting an amazingly inspirational poet called Mandy Coe. She writes for both children and adult, but she's really excited about inspiring creativity in young people. I was so impressed I even bought her new book, If you could see laughter!

There were so many things she said which are exciting and fun and creative...but I will rien myself in!

This is a tip she gave me: don't shy away from something because it's hard (ie, writing poetry, learning an instrument, painting a huge canvas). Why? Because if something is hard, you HAVE to be creative to make it work, which gives you a bigger sence of achievement!

For example, here is one of Mandy's exercises. I warn you, it's pretty tricky, but fun too. Give it a go and see how good you feel when you achieve it!

Choose one of these words: storm, rainbow, earthquake, darkness.

Now, write something about it (a description, how you feel about it/in it...) It could be a poem or just a few lines of prose, BUT you cannot use the letter E.

Here's mine,

Rainstorm
Today I got caught,
stuck on my own.
It was raining, you know,
and now I am soaking.

You try. Stretch your creativity further than E and see just how much you can do.

Day 84: What's the difference?

This weekend, I found myself being entertained by musicians, performing poets and comedians at a small festival called Aeon in the middle of Devon. Although I was really excited about all the creative potential this festival had to offer, I must admit, nerves definitely filled my tummy as I rolled up on my bike. The were loads of people with wicked looking dreadlocks, hippy cloths and face paint. I felt really out of place in my ordinary jeans and blue t-shirt. I thought putting pig-tails in my hair was making a considerable amount of effort but apparently not! I didn't fit in here. This wasn't my creative 'area'.

But, you know what? I had the best time. All of the poets I heard were fantastic. There were tones of bands, a mixture of ska, jazz, gypsy, reggae, hip hop...you name it, it was there. I was dancing, singing, skipping and quite frankly, jumping around like I just don't care!

I think the thing I was most worried about was the thing that made it so amazing. It was different to what I'm 'used' to. As I listened to those bands, musicians and poets, I found myself being memorised by all this creativity I knew very little about. It caught me, got my hips moving and I was away...

What do you listen to? Perhaps, more importantly, what don't you listen to? Today I encourage you to listen to something you wouldn't normally. Go to a local gig you wouldn't normally go to. Check out that last summer festival...

The best inspiration often comes from those things you're not used to. So push yourself, push your creativity...I dare you!

Day 44: What's in a name?

I think William has really posed an interesting question here. What is in a name?

Do you think names are important?

There are definitely names I like and names I don't. For me my taste in names is usually defined by other people I know. In my primary school there was a nasty little boy called Nathan and he is the only person I've ever known called Nathan. So, understandably, I don't really like it (sorry if you are/know someone called Nathan). But the name Jenna, I've never met anyone I didn't like called Jenna.

I'm pretty sure that you have similar stories.

So it would seem that there is something to names. I think it's definitely something to consider when it comes to giving our characters names in plays, stories, poems, dramas, scripts...

I am 'drawing up' two new characters at the moment and I know one of them is called Holly. It was just the name she wanted, but the other character (who is also a girl) is more tricky. I don't know what her name is yet...this is what brought all this name stuff up!

Are names important? I wouldn't say 'Emma' really defines me, but I can't imagine being called anything else.

Something to think about...

Day 41: Words

"People around here didn't waste words; language was a tool, not a treat. You didn't roll it around on your tongue, revel in it."

'What I Was' by Meg Rosoff

If you are anything like me, then you probably use words way too much! I talk ALL the time, the more words the better. Chat, chat, chat.

Do you use more words when you're around people who don't talk very much, or do you tend to be the quiet one? Should we revel in words, or should we see them as a treat?

I guess the real question is, how do we use it in our creative work? Do you use words wisely?

If you write plays, scripts, poems, stories, articles, dialogue, comedy...then words are really important. It's vital to get the balance right. That good old saying sums it up pretty well, 'it's quality, not quantity.'

Think about the way you use words. Do you need to edit a bit more? Do you need to use a few more? How about the words you are using, is there one that would work better?

Think about it. How will you use your words...?

Day 37: Oli

All you budding writers out there, try this out. In fact, even if you're not a writer, give it a go anyway. Anything that gets your creative juices going is worth it! I recon it could spark off a lot of ideas (hence why I'm sharing), not just for story writers. Okay, here goes...

Look around you and find an object (something vaguely interesting. Don't chose a plug socket or something boring like that.) Now I want you to imagine that your chosen object is you (ie, you become a lamp).

Now write 50 words exactly which describe you as this object. How do you feel? Do you like what you do? What do you look like?

Oh, and one more thing. Each word can only be one syllable! (ie, one sound like cat rather than kitten.)

Take a look at my example. See if you can guess what I am:

This is my safe place, cool and dry. Light streaks through the blinds all day. Specks dance round me, full of grace.
All at once my stretched out leaf is touched by a beam and I glow. Some dust lands on me, but some falls. Here I stay, at peace.

In case you didn't guess, I am a plant which sits in my bedroom. I have had it since I was 14 and he is called Oli (sort for Oliver).

Have a go yourself. I love doing these kind of challenges. It's fun to see what you can say with such restrictions. Plus it's great for editing and makes you really think about your word choice.

If you're a musician, try writing some lyrics this way. If you're a script writer, try describing a scene or doing some dialogue. Poets, I think it would be great for you.

What my teacher said to me, I shall say on to you; if you can write this, you can write anything!

See where it takes YOUR creative mind...