August 6th
We are well prepared for the first Unlocked Writing Workshop. Pat and I have made cakes and we’ve written copious notes. Anwyl brings strawberries. We sit round the large oak table usually weighed down with books below the photos of Victorian patients. There are ten of us – several volunteers from the museum itself and some artists new to the museum, an interesting mix. Pat and I have put together a series of exercises, some short and punchy to get things going and some longer with more time to observe, describe and reflect. One thing that strikes me when we share what we have written is that hearing everyone’s written descriptions of the cabinets is as exciting as looking at the artefacts themselves, sometimes more so. Something profound happens in the translation from looking to word. We write, read out and discuss. We had wanted to consider and talk about the assumptions that we bring to the place and at times the volunteers explain the background to contextualise some of the objects and photos that we’ve been looking at. Everyone here has brought their own histories and associations as well their own different writing styles. We collaborate to write a poem, each writing a line and then playing with the order to see what comes out.
Allowing myself the luxury of space travel
Colours shining, shimmering on white paper
Irrational thoughts
Out of darkness comes forth sweetness
Can it?
The organ sleeps
Its echoing voice silent
In the dim light
The patient act
Of being a patient
Held involuntarily
Stored in a cool dark place
There is so much noise here
The blast and tremor of the organ
Here are the keys to understanding
First stop to unlock
Sorry
We seem to have arrived in the wrong section
