oes your life have a theme tune? Mine is ‘Summertime’. It is no accident that I chose this name for my publishing company, and also for our first home. I love the lyrics. They always put me in a good mood. [...]
|
|
|||
   |
 healingIn all my years of teaching I have only ever had one student who has refused to take those first terrifying steps towards sharing her work. But those who do dare to be brave, who summon up every ounce of courage and start to read are the lucky ones. No step is ever more daunting than that first one. Despite more than 25 years as a professional writer now, I still belong to a writers’ circle. It is my talisman, my lifeline, my own personal place of safety. It is here that I dare to share the words that expose me and make me vulnerable. It is here, that, without doubt, I find my best [...] inspirationThe beauty of poetry is that each reader is allowed to lay his or her own interpretation on the words. Yes, we are supposed to read between the lines, but more importantly, we are supposed to add our own meaning between those [...] competitionsOnly last week I was asked to judge three writing competitions! I find it an honour to be asked and really enjoyed being a judge for the YoungWritersCompetition and the ExpatYouthScholarship last year. Seems 2011 will be even busier. I always love it when the arts are combined and my recent post about how Alaine Handa [...] inspirationI write this post from on board a cruise ship on which I am travelling around the Arabian Gulf. The boat rocks slightly; constantly in motion. Each day we dock in a new port and go ashore to explore. We are always on the move. Yesterday, we sat in the clifftop garden of the Crowne Plaza [...] inspirationWhen I wrote the poem, it came about as a result of a teambuilding art workshop that I attended. In the workshop we took Matisse’s painting, La Danse, and each had to paint a portion of the canvas. Art inspired my poem. My poem inspired a dance and so it [...] inspirationWhen I am helping my students and mentees to write I often find myself reminding them that whatever they write must have a point. It must have a purpose, a reason to live. The world has to be a better place for having those words in it. I believe that poets have to be wise. They have to be insightful and to be able to write words that resonate or provoke. Pip writes of dark subjects such as suicide, poverty and self-harming. Cooper Clarke writes about hire cars, streets and shirts. Every poem deserves to be there. [...] about meI hide behind words. life storyMemoir writers need to show the scenes and paint a picture with their pens, explains Jo [...] about meYour best work comes from a place of pain. Find the place of pain in your own life and [...] |
 |
|
|
Copyright © 2012 Jo Parfitt - All Rights Reserved |
|||