This month Marion headed a workshop on beginnings, the Bilston Dozen prompt for February/March. It was a short session as our AGM ran on for a little longer than anticipated. Who’d have thought it? Well, we do love a good AGM.
Marion kicked us off with a look at three poems that touch on the theme of beginnings:-
The Journey by Mary Oliver (who recently passed away)
Love after Love by Derek Walcott
Words by Marion Cockin (our very own poet Laurette. Well, I’d vote for her)
The Birth of the Universe by Frederick Seidel (Erm?)
We also had a quick skim through some tips for getting our poetry mojos revving.
Then we had a brainstorm. Look out. Red weather warning. Marion gave us a few prompts on beginnings, such as how music began, life events – first times, beginning a journey. We had to write down, quickly, whatever came to mind under each heading. After five minutes or thereabouts we went twice round the table sharing one of our thoughts each. Here is a taste of what we came up with:-
How art began – Blood on the earth
How science began - Alchemy
Other beginnings – Peter Pan at the cinema
How the earth began – Religion
Here’s some of mine.
Beginning a task – Procrastination.
Beginning your writing – Procrastination.
If you couldn’t make it this month, don’t panic, chill ya’ boots, Marion plans to carry it over into our March meeting where it will link beautifully to what is planned for then (see The Birth of the Universe above). What? You want to know what is planned for March? And what The Birth of the Universe has got to do with the price of bacon? Wait and see.