So my first session as the Writer in Residence at Gallery 14 is done, there’s a new poem come into the world as a consequence. I had a coffee there, delicious, and free, as is the deal. I sit there, with my books, writing and prepared to talk about my books and writing to anyone who drops by, even without the free coffee, this is a great gig!
The venue is in a good spot, things happening all around, various people dropping in at the cafe, and even if they don’t come and chat with me, they can see me there, and being present often enough will make me almost a resident, rather than just ‘in residence’ …
Wendy, who owns the venue, is supportive, and listened to me read the poem I wrote today, and seemed to like it, and she has put the word out online, about me being there, so maybe there will be even more things happening next Monday! And Wendy’s sister who writes screenplays was there, and we had a bit of a chat about that, which was interesting. I can see up both perhaps working on something together, you never know!
I’ll go online later today and see how things are looking, in terms of likes and shares and things, and who knows what may happen next week, because I will be there at that cafe every Monday morning, except for Public Holidays, with my books and prepared for going with the flow, whatever happens, I’ll be there happening too! I have a novel I’m writing, and a new poetry collection, and hey, I have books to sign too, if anyone wishes to have their own!
I’m a writer, and like many other writers, I find a variety of ways to go, as a writer, beyond just writing books. I write poems, I write articles and blog posts, such as this one, and I also do writing workshops, sometimes paid ones, other times just for a community group perhaps.
This workshop is one I am going to be presenting at a group that meets regularly in Gawler, a town I spend a lot of time in, even though I don’t live there. Many of my friends live in Gawler, and my writing group meets every week, in a lovely, historic hotel in Gawler.
This workshop is happening at a community centre, not a hotel, but that’s still a good thing. Anyway, this is the Workshop, take a look and give it a go. Feel free to ask any questions you have about it, in the comments section.
Workshop – Loved Little Things
Writing simple little poems can be easy, if you scale back what you want to write, and just stick to closely watching one small aspect of something you love, or love doing. It may be a hobby, for instance knitting, and you could write about a favourite item of clothing you’ve knitted in your past.
Or it could be cooking, and you choose cake making as your topic, and perhaps write a poem about a kind of cake you like to make. I used to enjoy making muffins, and I’ve written about vegetable muffins in the past, I think. I was very ‘into’ vegetables, in a former line of volunteer work – I was a Community Foodie, teaching people about healthy eating, and cooking.
Nature is one of my favourite things to write poems about, and the poem I’ve got on my notes here today is about a little part of Nature, the ant. I used rhythm and rhyme in my poem, but that isn’t necessary, it’s up to you to choose your poetic style. Or if you’re not in a poetic mood today, any form of writing will be fine,
You might write a small note about your small thing, or perhaps write a letter to it, or about it. Any kind of writing will be fine. So take that small part of the thing you love, and insert yourself, and your thoughts and wondering into the piece of writing. Think about how you relate to, or gain joy from, your loved thing, and write about that.
This little poem was one I wrote last year, think it was, after seeing a line of ants on our front veranda, and then over the course of a few days, realising there was always a line of ants in exactly the same spot. I thought it was an interesting little thing. I am a poet, and as a poet, I find myself looking, seeing, and finding many little bits of not much, that can broaden out, and become something – a poem.
Make your small piece your own, make it quirky, make it cute, make it something you’re proud of, or something that makes you small to yourself. Just write it!
My poem is a rhyming poem, with the first two verses using this rhyming scheme: abab, cdcd, with final verse eeff
Can you see what I mean there with the term ‘rhyming scheme’? The letters refer to the rhyming final word in each line, ‘a’ is the words tram and ramp, ‘b’ is the words food and mood. and so on. I hope that makes sense for you. And I hope you get some nice small poems about ‘Loved Little Things’!
Carolyn Cordon - Creative 