Autumn in Leicester is very colourful and powerful not only because of yellow and crimson leaves on trees, but also because of the variety of cultural events. The first one, from the long list of the autumn Leicester festivals, is “Everybody’s Reading Festival” related to poetry and literature. This year I had an opportunity to take part in a number of the Everybody’s Reading Festival’s events which I really enjoyed.
I took part in a workshop called “Mass media – inspiration for poetry and art”, which was led by a poet Jo Twist and an artist Magnus (Gallery Guest/Galleri Gestur). During several hours of this workshop, participants created their collages and poems, inspired by news from the local newspapers, for me this was a really creative time.
I joined meetings with authors and poets as well as lyrical lunchtimes and other meetings with charismatic activists. There were a lot of things which I will remember for a long time, however there was one that I will keep deep in my heart for the rest of my life, this was the Anthology Launch of the “Showcase Smoothie” project. This is a literature and music project, led by Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, designed to showcase the talent of young sufferers with mental health issues. Last year this project was dedicated to nine young schizophrenics and other mental health sufferers, who worked hard on their poems. Their work was published in the anthology titled: “Poems to read (before u die)”, introduced to the public during the Everybody’s Reading Festival. During the Anthology Launch these nine amazing men read aloud their poems and performed them. They did this very beautifully, showing not only their excellent writing skills, but also their professional performing talent. These two hours of reading poetry was breathtaking and absolutely unbelievable. It is difficult to imagine the difference between my standard and ordinary perception of reality and their splendid point of view on two different scales: the first one familiar to every people and the second one – their own. I was deeply touched and impressed. I laughed and cried at the same time, moved by the smart words, extraordinary emotions and fantastic performance given by fabulous people, who are full of surprises even for themselves. Just to give an example of their way of thinking I would like to quote a verse from one of the poems written by Zeropence: “I am the holes that make up your bath sponge”. How sophisticated these words are!!!
The authors of “Poems to read (before u die)” have definitely shown me a different world full of difficulties and fears but also beauty. I wish I was the holes that make up a sponge…
No comments:
Post a Comment