A Few Words About Me was a project initiated by Jasper Bouverie of Funder Films CIC which ran for several months in Canterbury. The group became a community where participants developed confidence to respond to poems and to create their own poem and, eventually, to perform their work to camera. There will be a chance to view a selection of the resulting films at the workshop.

For people living with dementia, a poem can offer a frame for talking about experience – both by reading and listening and then by creating in response. Doing this in a group is affirming and leads to a greater sense of self-hood and agency. Taking this a step further and creating poem films which can be shared is a way of capturing and honouring these stories for posterity.

A professional evaluator reported on the project and noted evidence of ‘rementing’ amongst participants. She also noted that in contrast to many projects, people appreciated being able to share their feelings about their diagnosis and its consequences.

Victoria Field is a writer and a mentor-supervisor with the International Federation for Biblio-Poetry Therapy. She is an International Fellow at the England Centre for Practice Development at Canterbury Christ Church University and a course director at the Professional Writing Academy.

Date: 19 June 2019, 10am-1pm
Venue: Truro Community Library
Cost: £10-£15

Book your place here

The project was funded by Awards for All and the Kent Community Foundation. This event has been organised by Lapidus Cornwall with the support of Literature Works and Artswell.