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29 Jun 2010 15:10:42
Finding the miraculous in the ordinary is one of the essential skills of a writer, said Sir Andrew Motion, the former poet laureate in his keynote address at Words – A Children’s Writing Festival hosted by the University of Bedfordshire.
The two-day event attracted 120 children from a total of 12 schools in Luton and featured talks and readings by well-known writers and poets and workshops by those who work with words for their living, including journalists and TV presenters. The purpose of the busy programme of events was to inspire schoolchildren to reflect on the versatility and uses of words for work and play.
Sir Andrew recounted his own journey from an un-bookish family – his father boasted to have only ever half read one Hammond Innes novel – to the position of poet laureate which he held for ten years, stepping down from the post in 2009 to divide his time between teaching, writing and lecturing.
He read several of his own poems, including Anne Frank Huis which he wrote as a 19-year-old about his visit to the attic hideaway of the young Jewish girl escaping the Nazis and a love poem he wrote recently to his wife.
“The secret is to write very simply,” he told the young audience. “I tell people I write things which look as simple as water but turn out to be gin.”
Earlier, the Luton-born performance poet and writer, John Hegley had raised the curtain on the festival with an energetic rendition, including audience participation, of his musical poem ‘Luton bungalow’ and with the recital of several of his riddles and word puzzles.
He also presented prizes to the winners of a competition in which the young writers were asked to describe a photograph of a place near them in words. The overall winner was Alice Hope from Ashcroft High School who was presented with a £50 Amazon voucher for her untitled poem [PDF]
There were also workshops by the Malawian writer Jack Mapanje who was jailed for three years and seven months by the government which accused him of being a security threat, performances by the Luton poet Adisa and media production and journalism tutorials.
The event, which forms parts of the 2010 Luton Year of Literacy campaign, was opened by Gifted and Talented Co-ordinator for the Children and Learning Department for Luton Borough Council Linda Prestidge who said: “This is a real joy for me. The event has been a year in the planning and has taken a lot of planning and effort to get everyone here today.”
The University’s Business Development Manager Sarah Waller, said: “We were delighted to be able to offer our well-equipped and spacious facilities to host this exciting and engaging programme of events featuring some of the most important creative talent working today.”
Latest news» 2010» June» Young writers discover poetry in Motion
