Kirklees Together

What a fantastic library adventure from two wonderfully talented poets. This week we were joined by Conrad Burdekin and Dom Conlon who read out a few of their poems and talked about different language techniques…

If you missed it or want to watch again (we don’t blame you!), you can watch the session on YouTube.

You might not think poetry is for you, but poetry is everywhere! It’s in your favourite song or even that funny pun on your birthday card. So next time you appreciate a set of words, you are probably enjoying a good poem.

Tools not rules

In the latest session, Conrad and Dom gave us some great writing tips, but they also made poetry seem a lot less daunting a quite fun. A good take home quote from Dom was “tools not rules” … poetry isn’t necessarily about fitting into guidelines and understanding grammar, it’s about finding different tools to have fun with language and express ourselves.

Get Involved!

You’ve probably guessed that this week’s challenge is about writing a poem. In the link below, Dom gives a great explanation of the challenge and gives us some inspiration too!

In Dom Conlon’s poem Moon Baggage, he gives an example of the poem we’re asking you to write.

Challenge overview

Write a poem about packing a bag, you could be going anywhere, you might be going to see family or go on holiday, or maybe you are starting your first day a school.

For the first verse talk about the literal objects, tell us what you are taking with you. If you are going to school you might need a pencil, a book, and your favourite lunch snacks.

For the second verse talk about the metaphorical, these things might not be an object, an example would be butterflies in your stomach, excitement, or the last hug of your pet.

Send us your poem

Send your entries to LAL@kirklees.gov.uk, with your name and age so we can pop it on our website and social media channels. Or tag Kirklees Libraries on Facebook or Twitter.

We can’t wait to see what you come up with… good luck!