by Ros Woolner
Cherry was back with us again in April, leading a workshop on metaphors (‘using a thing to describe another thing’), and specifically metaphors drawn from nature: weather, plants, wildlife and landscapes.
We looked at two poems that make use of natural metaphors: ‘The trouble with being out after dark’, by Cherry herself, and ‘Flies’ by Alice Oswald.
In a first writing exercise we were encouraged to write a list of unpleasant natural images to insult someone (or something).
Next, we wrote down some characteristics of a person we feel strongly about and then asked ourselves: what, in nature, has that same quality? Once we had a list of potential metaphors, Cherry encouraged us to look for similarities between them (do they all relate to a spring day, for instance?) and to find alternatives for the ones that didn’t fit the theme.
The final read-around featured ducks, horses, kittiwakes, sunflowers, locusts, ants, gardens, snow and Caribbean beaches.
Cherry Doyle’s poetry pamphlet September is available from Offa’s Press.
