skip to main |
skip to sidebar
A workshop arranged by Andy H Smith at the FED meeting in London on
the 17th November 2012 named "Cosmological Investigations and New
Constellations" After an interesting talk and short video I called my
poem
"The Three Pyramids"
Stark in the desert sand
three perfect shapes align
They interred great kings of old
who believed the planets were a sign
Now once more the same planets show
above the pyramids as of old
has this a meaning now
in the great scheme of things ?
we can create dark matter
and peer into the universe
no more does man depend on faith alone
science has all the answers now
but when I behold the beauty of the skies
I know there is still a lot to learn
Cynthia Price
Stevenage Survirvors
The soundtrack of your life
A work shop facilitated by Tony May
17/11/2012
Tony started by explaining that to write a real character into a story
the personality must be followed through, we cited examples of some soap
operas where the characters go on holiday and come back as someone
completely different . This change spoils the credibility of the whole
story. One method, Tony felt was to use music as a "hook" to verify
the character, he told us how pieces of music had influenced his life
because they seemed to be playing at a time in his life when changes
occurred We heard in all two pieces and were told of how they affected
Tony, then were asked if we could think of a significant piece or two
and wrote about it, preferably a light piece and a sad one. Tony also
expressed that the time the music was popular could indicate a
persons' age if that was the favoured genre. I wrote the following (
which makes me about 200 - sorry Tony)
Calming memories Beethoven’s' Moonlight Sonata
As a child, lying in bed, a brief time when I felt warm and safe, I
listened to my mother on the piano playing "Beethoven’s Moonlight
sonata. She was a very accomplished pianist and I would drift off to
sleep with the even ripples in my ears. My mother was an infant school
teacher and said that if she encountered a disruptive class, she would
sit at the piano and play this piece., immediately the class would calm
down and all would sit and listen.
In later years when I taught the piano mainly to children, I found
this a useful piece to teach, it is quite easy to learn and many
children would go away after a few weeks of practice with the first
three pages of Beethoven in their repertoire . It is very impressive,
gave the child a feeling of pride and a boost to the self esteem, some
even played it at their school concert.
All in all, the man who could hardly hear what he wrote down musically
has passed on so many beautiful sounds for us all to enjoy.
This was my "sad" piece
Sadness The Rose
Some music can make me feel sad when there is no reason , ballet music
for example , I fine emotional and Italian opera well some of the
stories are sad maybe I relate to them. The other evening though I
turned on the television and X Factor was on, not a programme I like at
all but I was captivated by the man who was telling his story it was a
sad story and when he began to sing it was as if all the sorrows of the
world were being expressed , I just sat and cried.
Cynthia Price
Stevenage Survirvors
This piece directly came from Brian Docherty's workshop at the FED writing festival Sat 17th 2012.
The picture was a photograph, I chose from many Brian had spread out on
the table, and together with the first line of a poem from a war
anthology - The last letter I had from France - I saw straight away -
from Brian's brief to 'take the picture into an different dimension' -
where I wanted the piece to go.
It's a bit deep and you may need to go digging but it was good for me to be 'stretched'.
Jan Hedger
GROW
I had a pretty good time at the festival this year! It was nice to see many familiar faces again if a little frustrating that during the day there wasn't much time to just 'sit around and chat' with people. Still, with any one day event this is always going to be difficult.
My group and I arrived late due to roadworks and a seemingly endless diversion so as soon as my bags hit the sofa in the student lounge I was off towards the first morning workshop. I attended John Malcolmson's 'Flash Fiction' workshop and found it very interesting and quite a challenge. The new one and a half hour time slot did not help things much on this occasion however and John did not really get enough time but everyone who attended wrote something and gave feedback at one point or another so the workshop was a success never the less.
After a coffee break I attended the 'Book Stalls' session. Hosted by Andrew from Goodmayes Writers (and Roger) the time was used to allow members of the FED a chance to introduce their latest works and or publications to everyone. Various people read passages from books they had for sale and I got to introduce 3 CD's of my own which would never have come into being without the positive effect previous FEDfests have had upon me.
Lunch was as delicious as ever I had two cups full of Lucia's fantastic soup. Later, the was also a selection of wonderful cakes and sponges that were enjoyed by all as well...
Having had a long journey and a somewhat rushed morning session I chose not to attend the AGM this year. Instead I went to room 303 and prepared for my afternoon Workshop - 'The Soundtrack To Your Life'.
The workshop itself did not go quite as well as I had hoped (I still have a lot to learn about how to put a workshop together) and I was a bit disappointed that only 5 people attended. Everybody wrote plenty though during the workshop and so I'm sure most enjoyed it even if I did end up 'winging it' a little in places!
After more coffee Roger took to the floor in the students lounge and conducted the Plenary session. Its always good to get some feedback from the floor and hear first hand what people have gained from attending the workshops. I do think now (with sadly dwindling numbers attending) that six workshops each slot is too many (four would be better) though. A lot of work goes into preparing a workshop and if on the day workshop leaders only get a few attendees it is likely to put them off running a workshop at future festivals.
Perhaps members could be asked to indicate their preferences in advance of the actual day as in a restaurant menu at a works Christmas do? This way, any proposed workshop that does not attract much interest can be scratched and the final timetable for the day then finalised and sent out to members? I felt really sorry this year for one lady whose workshop failed to attract a single person. Surely things could be done to avoid this situation happening again?
Lastly, I got to compare the 'Celebratory Reading' session this year. This was great fun for me and a hark back to my old DJ'ing days! Everybody who wanted to read got their turn and the session was good natured and light hearted. During the hour and a half we heard a bit of everything really. Interesting, whimsical, 'Naughty' (Bruce and Agnes, really! HA HA), poetic, heart wrenching etc, etc and I got to finish this years festival off by singing a song of mine fittingly entitled 'Genius'.
A big THANK YOU to all who made my day so special and to those who bought copies of my CD's especially Matt from Stevenage Survivors who has been a long-term supporter of me and my work.
I hope we can do it all again next year...
Tony May
G.R.O.W (and Shorelink Community Writers)
