I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the way place and writing work so was glad to get asked to blog about my work in that context, both in the sense of the work I do in the community and educational settings, often with my fellow poet and compadre in Ek Zuban Literature development Bob Beagrie, and in my own creative work which is heavily influenced by my locale here near the iron drained Cleveland hills and by the travels I’ve been able to make because of my poetry; most intensely in recent years to Finland which gives you a different means of looking at home. Beyond considering the way place can mutate and split open your discourse, its interesting to draw on the kind of projects I work on with groups at the edge of society – in the last twelve months I’ve worked with refugees and asylum seekers, recovering addicts, substance abusers, young offenders, kids in care, young people in danger of sexual exploitation on the streets, young carers and young people in danger of exclusion and offending  – which prompts me often to consider how place can dictate your boundaries and your way of communicating to a large extent - how it can in fact help to tie your tongue and restrict your possibilities.

Thought you might be interested to see that Jen Hadfield won the TS Eliot prize.  She lives in Shetland and writes poetry about place.  You can listen to her reading on the link below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7813000/7813375.stm

Gerry

I’m in Vilnius, it’s very cold and I feel like I could be in the Eurovision song contest, so I thought I should blog it here.  Eurovision was my way of describing My Place to those that didn’t quite get the My Place final show vision.  

It’s fantastic reading your posts and seeing how the residencies are developing.  I’m going to spend some time in the Greenwich foot tunnel and up by the Observatory in the near future and add my my place post to the mix.  It was great watching Rukus’ vod of the away weekend.  I plan to reconstruct it photographically, except Pizza Express of course.

This is just to say hello.  Be back soon.

Gerry