The Shells
by Sumaiyah UAs I walked across the sandy shore
I came across this shell
It shone like a diamond and twinkled like a star
My pocket a safe so i plopped it in there for safe keeping
I shoved it in my bag when it was time to have a swim
I wrapped up in a towel to make sure it wouldn’t dim
But when i climbed into the water i came across another shell
It felt like crumbly sand as i scooped up a handful
We’ve reached the halfway point of our poetry workshops at The Baytree Centre in Brixton.
Our facilitators Courtney Conrad and Sally Ann Wood have been working with a dedicated group of 8-10 year olds once a week for the past 5 weeks, hear from Sally below what they’ve been up to:
We have reached the half term point, and our break looks like a stack of pages ready to be typed up.
In our first session we made a big mind map all about poetry and when I asked our fabulous young participants “Who here writes poetry already?” all hands shot straight up. It was going to be an exciting 11 weeks.
We’ve covered friendship, food and free verse, London and beaches – we’ve drawn our own maps and scribbled and scribbled. After every exercise the girls share their work, they are keen and diligent writers – always negotiating with us for more time to finish, more time to share.
The Baytree Centre is full of life as all the after school clubs begin, it’s a hive of activity and the girls always bring that energy into our club.
As we move into the next half of term I’m excited to get into the editing process with them all before we practise our final performances. I have no doubt it’s going to be a fine afternoon of new poetry.
With thanks to The Baytree Centre. Supported by the London Community Fund.
Aged 14-18? Applications are open for Take Your Place!
Over the week, we'll meet artists and activists, practice public speaking, activism, and storytelling, and get creative. You'll receive £15 a day to cover food and travel —it's going to be wicked.
StrongBack Productions is grateful for the generous gift of one year’s core funding received from a benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous.
Registered Company No 8767837 Registered Charity No 1167818
