WORDWORKERS - 22 05 24 - DEEP AND SAFE

Well... today's writing group meeting went well. Just not in the way I expected it to. But I do like it when the plan shows me how it's going to work out!

Sitting here now, I am finding it difficult to write about. But, here goes...

I talked about meeting the writer Lindsay Littleson, and how she came to tackle the subject of dementia in her new book Ice Cream Boy. Dementia is a subject several of the group have personal experience of. The idea was to show how such distressing subjects could be talked about and written about - even to children.

I'll write more about the book later. Lindsay, herself, was fascinating. I would have talked longer with her if she didn't have a book-signing to be taking care of. Find out more about her and her writing at - https://lindsaylittleson.co.uk/

We revisited Rosalind's The Beholder's Eye. Those who had read the pamphlet talked about favourites and what they meant to them. Hopefully, the others will get the chance to enjoy the beautiful poetry in the collection.

Isabel shared her "progression" poem, describing a life through the shoes we wear at different ages. I think this was from Isabel's book Is Anyone There (which raised some good money for the Chest, Heart & Stroke charity).

John M. - MA, no less! - followed the birdsong theme from the 52 book with a poem about blackbirds' and how they sing around a theme.

John B., in the Jim Carruth vein, shared a poem about his dad as a farmer and the leaving of the farm.

Round about all that, we took a deep-dive into "the feels"! (Coincidentally, on the way to the group I had been talking about the beauty to be found in the less pleasant aspects of life, like heart-break and loss.)

We talked/read about mental health struggles, communication difficulties, the loss of parents, broken relationships, generational patterns, addiction... Well, we did begin with dementia, so, why not?

On the other hand, Sam read a very generous piece thanking the group for being a safe, welcoming, and encouraging place to be.

If you are going to be a safe place for people to unburden themselves, or write about their trauma, you have to expect to get your heart squeezed from time to time.

And that's what today was for me. A warming, stretching, heart-squeeze!

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The group has a week off next week - May 29th. See you all on June 5th!