Narc. Magazine Online
Reliably informed
The Doorstep Poet teams up with arts project The Cultural Spring to deliver a new series of workshops to prove anyone can write poetry
Think you’re useless at constructing words? And that your verses just sound turd. Then have a Zoom with the doorstep poet. He’ll unlock your talent and help you grow it. Sorry…
A RISING star from the world of poetry, Rowan McCabe wants to prove anyone can write a verse and is set to deliver a series of online workshops to show that poetry doesn’t have to be boring. These Zoom sessions have been organised by award winning Wearside and South Tyneside arts project The Cultural Spring ( which aims to increase arts participation in areas that don’t have a tradition of arts engagement) and will start on Wednesday, February 3 at 2pm and continue for the following four Wednesdays. Each session will be an hour long, suitable for all adults, of any ability and will operate on a ‘pay what you can’ basis.
Rowan has appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe, The Royal Albert Hall and Glastonbury as well as BBC Radio 2, Radio 4 and BBC Breakfast TV. He started a door-to-door poetry service from his home city of Newcastle and has since pounded the streets of Tyneside and much further afield, offering to write poems based on ideas suggested to him by whoever answers the door. It’s something the poet wants to build on with this latest project.
“These workshops are all about extending the message of my Door-to-Door project. I want to prove that anyone can write a poem and that it doesn’t have to be boring or cryptic.”
“In the sessions, we’ll be using a range of fun and exciting techniques to unlock our creative potential, making work that is unique and engaging. Anyone is welcome, if you’ve never written a poem in your life, or if you’ve been penning verse since you could walk, it would be great to see you there.”
“You can write a poem about literally anything, it could be something huge and political or small and seemingly insignificant. It’s all about using your own voice, not someone else’s.”
Emma Scarr, Project Coordinator at The Cultural Spring, adds “As well as the sessions being a lot of fun, they will give people the opportunity to build on their literacy, artistic expression and communication skills. I think that it is amazing how literally anyone can take part in these sessions which will result in bringing the community together.”
For more information, or to book a session, please contact: info@theculturalspring.org.uk
