Poetry and the Art of Journaling
Poet Diana Humphrey reviews her recent experience on two Dialect poetry courses
We've just had the last of the second series of Dialect poetry workshops with Philip Rush and Juliette Morton. As we left we all said how much the class meant to us and how privileged we felt to have had the time and interest of two such splendid poets and teachers dedicated to us.
We felt sad that we were not to continue together for a while at least. When you study closely what someone shares on screen with you, you learn how they work and you learn about them as well.
The groups were deliberately kept quite small at a maximum of fourteen so that we didn’t lose that personal touch. Many of us happened to be local to Stroud but with the beauty of Zoom, others came and joined us from Ireland, Bristol, the Isle of Man and London too. We'll miss this national fluidity when the world resumes its terrestrial approach to meetings.
We have learned a lot. Confidence, certainly, and a growing ability to scour what we had put on paper to see if it was truly working for its living – and maybe the thought that there were different skies to stand under.
Juliette and Philip run the proceedings delightfully between them. The classes work as three linked pairs of sessions reading/responding and writing/feedback held fortnightly.
This most recent course explored poetry and journal-keeping. I surprised myself by finding quotes, pictures and words of my own building up into future 'source-material' in my journal.
From the first evening, we were introduced to a selection of poems whose only connection with each other is a shared theme and a surprising take on the world. I have made or renewed the acquaintance of so many poets: Sharon Olds, W.S. Graham, Ishion Hutchinson, Fiona Benson, Allen Ginsberg, Kim Moore, Kathleen Jamie. We even examined Wordsworth's 'Daffodils'.
We try in our turn to write something short and on the spot using these as models or inspiration. For our next meeting we expand/ distort/ abandon these to write a poem of our own to share. This can be hard because while we want improvement and have invited criticism, it is still nerve-wracking. Here's your new 'baby' being screen shared and read by an audience. Who knows what they will say? But people are kind and they comment and make suggestions. It's up to you what you adopt. What I have especially liked is the unhurried pace, the seriousness given to each piece. And as we said to one another on the last night, 'we learn a lot.'
I think we have been exceedingly lucky to find such a stimulating, involving, professional class to be part of.
There is to be a break now until September, when maybe you will be joining us?
Dialect is now on a summer break - you can check out our autumn courses here. We have face to face courses running at The Sub Rooms in Stroud, including one on poetic form and online courses and mentoring, including a deep dive into the craft and intelligence of one of the world’s best ecopoets, Jorie Graham.
Diana Humphrey is a poet based in Stroud, author of two pamphlets Downstream and Remnants (Yew Tree Press). She joined Dialect’s Throwing Clay and Poetry Journaling courses in Winter/Spring 2021.
