{"id":7062,"date":"2018-01-16T13:59:39","date_gmt":"2018-01-16T13:59:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/cel\/?p=7062"},"modified":"2018-01-16T13:59:39","modified_gmt":"2018-01-16T13:59:39","slug":"reflections-on-a-creative-writing-workshop-for-academics-at-bu-led-by-kip-jones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/flie\/2018\/01\/16\/reflections-on-a-creative-writing-workshop-for-academics-at-bu-led-by-kip-jones\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on a Creative Writing Workshop for Academics at BU, led by Kip Jones"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

By Susanne Clarke<\/strong><\/p>\n

(with Trevor Hearing, Caroline Jackson, Mark Readman, Carly Stewart & Peter Wolfensberger)<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am sitting here on a Saturday morning, daunted by the task ahead of me.\u00a0 I am in charge of writing a blog on behalf of a wonderful group of people who I spent a couple of days with at the beginning of January, (oops, I am already overselling myself, I am actually bringing together a blog using material they have given me). \u00a0The group, as promised has sent me their \u201cpostcards\u201d, snippets revealing their inner most reflections of the experience we shared.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Perhaps I\u2019d better reveal more of our journey and tell you a bit about the group. We came together having booked our place at the auspiciously titled \u201cCreative Writing Workshop for Academics\u201d led by the legend that is Kip Jones.\u00a0 I would say it was a journey that we would all do again in a heartbeat.<\/p>\n

Kip invited us, compelled us, to discard the shackles of academic or more formal forms of writing; we breathed in deeply and sought to find our inner selves, the child unconstrained by conventions that have both helped and hindered our writing over the years.<\/p>\n

So, applying all that I learned from Kip, I am not going to over-analyse my writing and I will go with what feels right.\u00a0\u00a0 Studying the \u2018postcards\u2019 from the group \u2013 Peter\u2019s\u00a0 postcard will come first, just because it feels right, he sums up the experience for us all really.<\/p>\n

From Peter Wolfensberger:<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

postcard to myself or<\/em><\/p>\n

everything matters and nothing really does unless the moment you belong\u00a0and love\u00a0\u2013 exercise one<\/em><\/p>\n

Struggling\u00a0with\u00a0my\u00a0thesis I\u00a0considered the\u00a0creative writing workshop as a source for\u00a0inspiration.\u00a0So, I travelled long distance just to be confronted with\u00a0myself and\u00a0who I am and writing the story of my life on a postcard!\u00a0Really?! Yes, \u2013 and no, there is more: Watching two boys on a crowded\u00a0beach in the twenties has as much to do with me as trying to make sense of dreams that I can never remember. Writing a\u00a0poem, a script treatment, a story, my story? In the end, it\u2019s all just a tagline away from my thesis\u2026 But hey, I belonged to this wonderful group of people who kind of tried to do\u00a0the same or something very different. Love you all!\u00a0\u2018<\/em><\/p>\n

A bit more to reveal here with Mark\u2019s postcard:<\/p>\n

From: Mark Readman<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear Group<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018Taglines, poems, life stories on postcards, writing, sharing, reading aloud and, ultimately, bringing my academic work to life through the art of storytelling \u2013 what a great way to start the new year!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Now back to me. The writing is now getting more difficult.\u00a0 I can\u2019t really compete with the beauty of the words conveyed in the postcards.\u00a0 Kip did promise that our first attempts will be quite bad and will need plenty of re-write. So, I walk away, I head off to make a cup of tea and read The Guardian<\/em>. Nothing much to learn about me from my reading choice, nor, did I expect to learn much from it.\u00a0 I read it because I enjoy a few of the Saturday regulars and primarily because it\u2019s still free on line.\u00a0 I click on one of my favourite columns, \u201cBlind date\u201d and this week\u2019s column looks promisingly uplifting, entitled; \u201cWe parted with a kiss<\/em>\u201d.\u00a0 It was a good read, and I wondered if the format could be borrowed for the blog.\u00a0 And so I try below:<\/p>\n

Reflections on our \u2018Blind Date\u2019 with Kip<\/strong><\/p>\n

From: Susanne Clarke<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The scene: The Group meets each other and Kip for our first \u201cBlind Date\u201d.<\/p>\n

What were we hoping for: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Improvement, enlightenment, and perhaps a cry from the heart to help with the struggle that is a life centered around writing, at the very least, some basic hints and tips and a creative start to the year.<\/em><\/p>\n

What we weren\u2019t expecting, but I think we were all secretly hoping for as Caroline put so well in her postcard, \u201c\u2026one thing that I did take away from the creative writing\u00a0workshop was passion and confidence in creative writing.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Our First Impressions: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Positive, the group were warmly welcomed, Kip was laid back, relaxed and we got a sense it was all going to be ok.\u00a0 Kip set us some homework \u2013 to recall our night time dreams. I think we were all slightly scared.<\/em><\/p>\n

What did we talk about: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Everything and anything, somehow Kip got us to reflect deeply, perhaps share things we wouldn\u2019t normally be so bold with.\u00a0\u00a0 Kip shared intimate reflections with us and made it ok to share back.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Any awkward moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n

There really should have been, we were stretched, we cried, we laughed, however, I don\u2019t recall anything being awkward and I can\u2019t find a hint of this in the postcards.<\/em><\/p>\n

Although, if I am honest there was a moment for me.\u00a0\u00a0 When Kip set us the task to create poems from our recollection of recent dreams, as a lifelong fan of Pam Ayres, my poem had to rhyme, consequently, my attempt lacked the depth of feeling conveyed by the poems written and read out loud by others in the group.\u00a0 But it did rhyme.\u00a0 I did feel slightly awkward, mine was rather light, however, in the end it was alright.<\/em><\/p>\n

Good table manners?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We did lunch as a group, it was a great ending to our adventure, and our table manners were impeccable, as far as I could tell.<\/em><\/p>\n

Would we introduce Kip to our friends?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A resounding yes, why wouldn\u2019t anyone be less than delighted to meet Kip, and I would happily introduce Kip and the whole group to all my friends.<\/em><\/p>\n

Describe Kip in three words:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Charismatic, warm and unconventional<\/em><\/p>\n

What do we think Kip made of us?<\/strong><\/p>\n

He told us we were the best group he had ever taught, he was probably lying. He made us feel special though.<\/em><\/p>\n

Did you go on somewhere?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is where I will leave the \u2018Blind Date\u2019 format and head to something slightly more hypothetical, we are all now continuing somewhere, we are improved from our experience, but taking different paths.\u00a0\u00a0 Let\u2019s now share some more postcards from the group.\u00a0 I guess where we go next in our journey remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

From: Trevor Hearing<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear Group<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2026.\u2018Kip\u2019s Tree of Performative Social Science is a rare species that grows over ground and underground with each workshop I attend, sending hidden signals around the world through its mycelium that it is OK to write about yourself as a source of knowledge because in doing so we are feeding others with the compost of our imaginations. I learned the value of metaphor at this workshop\u2019\u2026.<\/em><\/p>\n

Love Trevor xxx<\/em><\/p>\n

From: Caroline Jackson<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear friends,<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026. The interventions offered by Kip and my workshop colleagues were productive in many ways. I came away with the following: \u200b<\/em><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. I like writing.<\/em><\/li>\n
  2. I can let go and write something not directly related to an academic output and it be worthwhile.<\/em><\/li>\n
  3. Some questions and techniques to use in future writing activities, academic or not.<\/em><\/li>\n
  4. Some ideas for my own students on their creative thinking and work.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Wish you were here, love Caroline xxx<\/em><\/p>\n

    From: Carly Stewart<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    Dear group<\/em><\/p>\n

    \u2026\u201d It opened up my thinking and reconnected me to the heart-felt reason I enjoy academia in the first place. I had time and space to think deeply about ideas and new ways to express them, not for outcome or in the surface skimming tone so often required of us. And the epiphany for me was that dedicating time for creative space did not send me spinning off on a tangent from academia but instead loosened my thoughts and reconfigured them in a way that inspired me to pick up the reins of academic writing once again.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    Love Carly xxx<\/em><\/p>\n

    And finally, from me (Susanne).\u00a0 I spent time with a colleague this week writing with a deadline to submit an abstract. I approached this with more confidence and my biggest lesson from Kip \u2013 I could hear his voice, \u201cwork on a catchy title\u201d he said this a few times.\u00a0\u00a0 Our title begins with \u201cShrek and the Onion..\u201d It wouldn\u2019t have done before Kip entered my life and thoughts.\u00a0\u00a0 Will our abstract take us to the conference in the sun, who knows?<\/p>\n

    PS We would also like to thank others in the group who are not represented here but who contributed towards the experience.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By Susanne Clarke (with Trevor Hearing, Caroline Jackson, Mark Readman, Carly Stewart & Peter Wolfensberger) I am sitting here on a Saturday morning, daunted by the task ahead of me.\u00a0 I am in charge of writing a blog on behalf of a wonderful group of people who I spent a couple of days with at… Read more » about Reflections on a Creative Writing Workshop for Academics at BU, led by Kip Jones<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1276,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[706,382,5,146,182,784,473,773],"tags":[64],"class_list":["post-7062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-coaching-mentoring","category-creative-methods","category-news","category-service-excellence","category-social-media","category-study-skills","category-womens-academic-network","category-writing","tag-service-excellence"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/flie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/flie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/flie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/flie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1276"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/flie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7062"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/flie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7065,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/flie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7062\/revisions\/7065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/flie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/flie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/flie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}