Writing Together in Brighton

Fun prompts. A safe space. Just write...

Our next Time to Write is Saturday, 28 October. We have a new venue - Hummingbird Studio, Havelock Road, Brighton BN1 6GL.

Here are some photos and feedback from our first Time to Write in September. 

"An unbelievable space where you really do get to new, different, deeper levels of thinking."

"I appreciated the freedom to write and felt comfortable not having a definitive theme on which to focus."

"Really positive time to reflect and write in the company of like minded people from diverse backgrounds."

"Great sweets!"

"Thank you for a safe and nurturing space where we could weave the magic of our writerly selves."

"I felt like I progressed my own ideas and thinking which I will use outside of the workshop."

"A rich and valued opportunity. Thank you, see you next month."

Happy National Poetry Day

Here's a poem by peace activist and buddhist monk Thick Nhat Hanh

They don’t publish the good news

They don’t publish
the good news.
The good news is published
by us.
We have a special edition every moment,
and we need you to read it.
The good news is that you are alive,
and the linden tree is still there,
standing firm in the harsh Winter.
The good news is that you have wonderful eyes
to touch the blue sky.
The good news is that your child is there before you,
and your arms are available:
hugging is possible.
They only print what is wrong.
Look at each of our special editions.
We always offer the things that are not wrong.
We want you to benefit from them
and help protect them.
The dandelion is there by the side walk,
smiling its wondrous smile,
singing the song of eternity.
Listen! You have ears that can hear it.
Bow your head.
Listen to it.
Leave behind the world of sorrow and preoccupation
and get free.
The latest good news
is that you can do it.

Thick Nhat Hanh

The Arts Are Good For Your Health

Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing

We welcome this Report published in July 2017 which sets out research, evidence gathering and discussions with health care professionals, patients, artists, MPs and policy makers. Produced by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing it follows two years of inquiry.

The Report finds: "arts-based aproaches can help people to stay well, recover faster, manage long term conditions and experience a better quality of life." It also shows how arts interventions can save money and help staff in their work.

It recommends the National Institiute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) includes the use of the arts in healthcare in its guidance where evidence justifies it and hopes that:

• New collaborations will be formed across conventional boundaries.
• The thinking and practice of people working in health and social care will be influenced. 
• A new culture will grow that supports the government in the process of change towards the creation of a society which is both healthy and "health creating." 

Finally the Report calls for "all those who believe in the value of the arts for health and wellbeing to speak up." 

It goes on to say "We will work with all who believe, as we do, that the arts offer an essential opportunity for the improvement of health and wellbeing."  

To contact the APPG and lend your support to the arts in health, email Alexandra Coutler on: coultera@parliament.uk

This post was first published in a slightly different form on Christine's blog at WordWell Writing Workshops

Time to Write

Would you like time and space to write?

Time To Write workshops from 10.30 a.m. - 1.30 p.m. Saturdays: 30 September, 28 October, 25 November 2017 in Brighton.  


Cost:  £60 for 3 workshops, £40 for 2 (if booked together), and £25 for one. 

What you'll get from Time to Write: 

• time to write in a held space
• inspirations for writing if you want them 
• the opportunity to write alongside others
• space to share
• feedback if you wish  

Writing can feel lonely at times as well as easy to put off or difficult to start! These low cost sessions offer a held space intended to get you in the writing flow whether you're a beginner writer or someone who already writes. 

Time to Write workshops are a space where you can write alongside others on your work in progress or use the inspirations we bring to get writing. There'll be opportunities to share your writing and ask for specific feedback if you wish.

These workshops are for you if: 

• you'd like inspiration to get your writing flowing 
• you need designated time to write on your own project
• you're new to writing
• you enjoy writing in the company of others  
• you'd like to share your writing 

 
Venue: 300 Restaurant, 300 Ditchling Road, Brighton BN1 6JG 

Writing in Nature

It was a bright and sunny day - just right for our writing in nature workshop at the Garden House on Saturday, 10th June.

The Garden House is a secret garden tucked away behind houses in Warleigh Road, Brighton. It's run by Bridget and Deborah who host a variety of workshops there. And a really special place as you'll see from the photos.

The writing prompts we used were inspired by a visit to the North Wales forest last year for a weekend of writing facilitated by poetry therapist Jill Teague. 

Writing 1: Find a space in the garden and write about what you see looking out and around into the distance. Go with the flow of your writing.

Writing 2: Find something you're drawn to. Focus in on it. Write about what you find. 

Writing 3: Re-read your writing and underline the words and phrases that stand out to you. Use them to create a shorter piece of writing or poem. 

We found these prompts worked really well. 

Feedback from participants: 

"It felt a safe environment with everyone being supportive. It felt like the words wanted to spill out of me during the exercises and the course more than fulfilled my hopes and expectations."

“A wonderful experience of having time and space to write creatively amidst the beauty of a summer garden."

“I found the exercises varied and challenging but in a good way! I would have liked more time for the workshop as it goes so quickly!"

A Fox Crossed My Path

We were delighted to welcome Monica Suswin for the afternoon on Saturday 29th April 2017 to hold her powerful and thought-provoking workshop on the sensitive subject of her own depressive illness.

Monica described the process that led to an owning and integration of her Ill Self alongside her Well Self. She shared extracts from her new mini book A Fox Crossed My Path - creative therapeutic writing on a depressive illness along with writing exercises, followed by the opportunity for discussion and questions.

Monica explained how an encounter with a real fox many years ago and reading the poem The Thought Fox by Ted Hughes led to the fox becoming a metaphor for her illness.

Workshop participants were invited to think of a metaphor (a symbol/something very real and concrete) to represent the abstractness of illness, mental or physical, and to free write on this image. By giving things a personality and getting to know them better we can form a relationship with them. In this way something internal like illness may begin to become externalised. 

For Monica the technique of making lists has enabled her to make meaning from the chaotic impact of her illnesses. She asked everyone to write down a list of six things about either their own or someone else’s illness or a traumatic event in their lives. This led to some deep sharing.

The afternoon ended with Monica sharing her poem ‘Comforting Myself. She asked participants to write a sentence or two about what comforts them.

Fox illustrations c. Olivia Haughton

The mini book A Fox Crossed My Path is useful for practitioners in the helping professions by illuminating how Writing for Wellbeing may be a resource for those they work with.

For anyone who has suffered a depressive illness and is in the stages of recovery, the different ways of writing shown in A Fox Crossed My Path might be good to try, perhaps with the support of a practitioner in the healing arts. Each chapter ends with writing exercises based on different styles and approaches to creative and therapeutic writing. 

You can purchase a copy of A Fox Crossed My Path by Monica Suswin for £10 direct from her at monicasuswin.wordpress.com (including postage and packing).

More about Monica:

Monica blogs at: monicasuswin.wordpress.com

Her website is at: www.cabinonthehill.co.uk 

Monica offers workshops on the healing power of writing; supervision or mentoring, as well as sessions on all aspects of writing.

Writing Together

Our second Animal Magic workshop took place on April 8th in Brighton. 

It was an enjoyable way to spend a Saturday morning - writing together in the upstairs room of the old Hop and Vine restaurant (now named 300). We were happy to welcome Tag, a doe eyed lurcher-collie cross pictured below who behaved beautifully - until lunch when his hunger overwhelmed him and he helped himself to some of Diane's pizza! 

We took inspiration from poems by Ted Hughes (The Horses), Mary Oliver (The Swan) and John Drinkwater (Deer) and wrote from Native American animal medicine cards to describe the sensory aspects and qualities of the animal we'd chosen. We went on to write from the animal's perspective or to imagine an encounter with it. 

During the two hours we shared writing about a porcupine, a whale, a bear, badgers, foxes, a snake and a butterfly.  

We look forward to holding more opportunities to write together.