The Spoken Word As An Art Form

A fun morning yesterday. I was asked to represent the Cheltenham Poetry Festival at the Cheltenham Ladies College and to introduce the poet and performance artist Rebecca Tantony, who was to run a workshop with a group of students aged 12 - 14. It was my first meeting with Rebecca, but I shall certainly see to it that it isn't my last!

It was fascinating to see how Rebecca engaged with the students and involved every single one of them in the exercises she did. There was a near riot in the Rhyming Wars game! But peace descended and concentration was etched on every face for the "What makes me me?" exercise at the end of the morning. Six brave students then volunteered to perform their poetry - which was brilliant and extremely moving. A thoroughly enjoyable session.

Rebecca Tantony

Rebecca teaches creative writing to all sorts of groups and has been writer in residence at very varied venues. I recently came across her book "Talk you round till dusk" (Burning Eye). It's a great mixture of poems, flash fiction and superb illustrations byAnna Higgie. Well worth a look if you've not seen it.