The Sound of Water - Poetry Exploration
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Transcript of The Sound of Water - Poetry Exploration
The Sound Of Water
ISBN: 978-1-903947-24-3Published by Charnwood Arts - February 2009
The Sound Of WaterA Haiku Poetry Project
By The People Of Thurmaston
with Paul Conneallyand Charnwood Arts
a frog leaps inwater's sound
Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)
•MM!
Paul Conneally me Iptor Richard Thornton and Ian Baine;us5 the project.
Richard Thornton Sculpture is based in Harby, north of Newark.Having completed a wide range of commissions, Richard andhis team have considerable experience of project managementand consultancy.They are used to working with communitiesand multi-disciplinary project teams to achieve positiveoutcomes. Richard is also an active member of The Royal BritishSociety of [email protected]
Paul Conneally is a haiku poet and artist based in Loughborough.He works with schools and communities all overthe UKencouraging people to make poetry. He is the artistic directorof the Haikumania Project at Virginia Tech.
There are fragments of haiku poems on the benches in the playground areaand on the wall-piece sculptures... Can you find them?!
What we did at the first session - February 8th.
At the first meeting a mixture of local adults and school childrenfrom Eastfield Primary School met at Elizabeth Park CommunityCentre.
Haiku poet, Paul Conneally, led the session and explained thatmany haiku contain two parts - a 'fragment'and a'phrase'.Thefragment makes one line (first orthird) and the phrase is splitover two lines.
Some haiku poems follow a special syllable count pattern butnot all of them do. Each haiku poet has their own style.
We went outside to gather ideas for our fragments and phrases.
On this particular day there was a lot of snow on the ground.The snow on the roads had turned slushy and we could hearthesound of traffic scything through the slush. Around us were thefirst glimpses of spring.
The group returned inside and worked with Paul to write up theirnotes.
We then read out the haiku in the traditional way. Haiku are readout slowly, savouring every syllable and then repeated.
ice slippery ice a yellow primrosesnow turning to water wrapped in snowas it falls the holly tree
JadeWells-Larter Sue Lewis
^
What is a haiku?
old pond...a frog leaps in
water's sound-•--•
furuikeyakawazu tobikomu
mizu nooto
Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)
This is one of the best known poems in the Japanese language.
It's a haiku.It was written by Matsuo Basho, probably the most famous writer ofhaiku ever.
A Haiku Poet is called a Haijinin Japanese. A Haijin whoreaches the highest level andhas many students or disciplesis called a 'Haiku Master'.
Other Haiku Masters include:Yosa Buson (1716-1784)
Koyabayashi Issa (1762-1826)MasoakaShiki (1867-1902)
Takahama Kyoshi (1874-1959)
The following pages document haiku writing sessions and'Haiku Hikes' undertaken by the people of Thurmaston.
leaves falla lady walks pasthumming
Sachin Kantilal
cold airat the back of my throatbare trees
ZakCooper
moving treesgrass frozenlike snow
birds are singingin the cold frosty morningseeds on the ground
Billy Smith Tom Challenger
1O
snowflakes floatingwater spraying from speeding carsmaking tracks on the blanket
indentationsin the soft snowanimals and people
pedestrian bridgegoing nowherepeople going everywhere
solitary footstepsone by one passing byblack on white
red againstthe white and greya brick chimney
Hilary Billings
Karen Millard
crunchy coldlots of flakesfalling from god
Scarlett Henson
red berriesclingingtotheir branchthorns as neighbours
cars brakeon the slippery snowtracks on tar
Ben
jack frost has called bylittle fingersfreezing in the cold
Mimi Henson
black glovetransient snowflake starsblowing
park playgroundthe freshly fa lien snowhides broken glass
new housesthe development spreads intoexisting lives
Brenda Seaton
Sue Lewis
snow spins downinto the rushing traffica sting of coldness
Jemma Bagley
bridge over trafficcars buses and lorriestoot and shout
wet branchesthe bowling greencovered in snow
Rosemary Hill
11
16
18
waterrunningto nowherethe old corner shop
tumblingtearspounding froth roarsover concrete
Jennifer Harris
subterranean passagerude wordshigh and low
river soarunder and over,to the sea
Hilary Billings
rushing watertouching oncethen gone
old agea gnarled and leaningtree trunk
the skyin a puddlespotted with raindrops
empty windowswet brown leaveslying in the mud
diggers everywherestuck in the mudhouses for sale
where the footpathand byway meetsan old mattress
the Soar flowssouth to norththe weir east to west
we are allwet and muddycane furniture
Rosemary Hill
bluebellsthe weight of rainon their shoulders
a communitya concretejunglehiding from the trollies
cars every wheremucky water flyingoff the wheels
Mimi Henderson
an uncared for boatin the watery gloombeautiful blossoms
Hilary Billings
NJO
is piece of creat i
Thurmaston.We pass a yard and peer over and through a wooden fence.
The name 'Saddingtons' Fuels' is painted onto the side of a corrugatedmetal lorry container. Peeling, distressed and neglected.
Saddingtons used to move furniture as well.
Shoemakers' hovels, a wall is being carefully rebuilt using old bricks.Using the old to rebuild for new inhabitants.
The old school housethat looks too tiny to house a school.The year 1911 is marked on the wall.
Up to Cross Street.Old granite kerbstones, next to modern concrete ones.
- A house, moved brick by brick from Melton Road.Where Old Hall Close's wall continues under the ivy.
Down to the river path, concrete and soil lies in lumpy piles.
Up to Johnson's Bridge and over to the weir. The sound of rushing water
vay, high water had bought litter downriver. Today, therehe weir or tangled into the banks.
Vater geese ;Fishermen sit \
We emerge onto Mill Lane, an unadopted -road. No-one cuts back the foliage. Agrass area and a car park where the fishermen and visitors stop to visit Watermead.
est Avenue back onto the lane.We pass decaying houseboats.
We progress to Melton Road and our journey ends atThe Harrow pub, where we rest and enjoy a drink. ,
amework knitter's house.
Across the road to St John The Evangelist, an island of rock.
:anal Street was a row of cottages.
On the site of a medieval hall, like a Guildhall. A farmmentioned in the Domesday Book . Now Old Hall Close,modern houses.
red tileslittle brick streets
hide secrets
Sue Lewis
trees swayin the bright sunshine
cold air
Katie
outwoodswater bubbles past
spring flowers
Mimi Henderson
I love watercanals are part
of living life
Margaret
the cemetery signstands tall and black
yew trees
Rosemary Hill
a resting placewhere squirrels playmum and dad asleep
Jennifer Harris
a magpieviewing the worldfrom a house roof
Jean Bradshaw
bare branchesdancing in an ice cold wind
blue sky
Josh Hadfield
26
Rain On My HatThurmaston Carnival 2007
The carnival was held at Elizabeth Park on a very rainy Saturday inJune. Despite this the turn out was good.The theme was'Pirates'and many joined in by dressing the part, including Paul Conneallyas'Captain Haiku'.He mingled with the crowd both inside and out, talking to themand writing down their ideas. He also devised a giant word searchbased on haiku fragments and phrases which was set up in theSports Hall alongside an exhibition of photographs of the Sound OfWater project.This word search can be seen on pages 12 and 13 ofthis book.
What follows are the haiku poems and photographs gathered onthe day.
wine or waterthe sun shinesbehind the clouds
Sachin Kantilal
really wet daya stall sellingIndian food
Rosemary Hill
nothing comesif I were outsideI'd be inspired
HuseinJamaly
carnivalwe stray from our journeyin the rain
Andrew Walker
young and olda communityat its best
John and Dave
rain on my hatmorris dancerspreparing to dance
Roxy
loud musica man in ragsbanginga drum
Mick Pipie
wonderful turnoutthe morris dancers go onafter eastfield school
Brenda Seaton
wet and happypeople enjoying themselvesat the stalls
Derek Chapman
ice-cream wagona posh blokewith a bear in his hands
Pam Ashford
rain on my handsmy children enjoy themselveson the roundabout
Sarah Ashford
treasure chest of sweetschildren dressed as piratesdodge the rain
Lynn West wood
too busyto write poemsa boy with a balloon
Barbara Richardson
two coppersin bright green jacketschildren havingfun
Peter Lee
33
Thurmaston Action Group was formed in 2002.TAG are volunteerswho meet monthly, usually at The Old School, Melton Road, on aWednesday. Forfurther information and confirmation of the dateand time of the next meeting please contact:
i —^ Gerry Bowman, Chair 01162200511inC3rouP Brenda Seaton,Treasurer 01162127686
Charnwood Arts is an independent community artsand media organisation based in Loughborough. It isa registered arts and educational charity (No. 505977).
www.charnwoodarts.com 01509821035 or contactJemma Bagley: [email protected]
Charnwood Arts would like to thank the people of Thurmaston fortaking part in this project and the following for their support:
The developers Metropolitan and Mansellfor the grant they gave us to getthis project started and for theuse of the site map on page 3. JSf.!™
MflllSGll
Charnwood Borough Council forCharnwood the arts development grant which
-^ enabled us to publish this book.
LeicestershireCounty Council'
«7<
Photo credits:Jemma Bagley for the workshop pictures and views of Thurmaston- Brenda Seaton for the photos on page 32 - Richard Thornton for use ofthe photos on page sand use of the wall-piece motif. AlsothankyoutoSue Lewis for the river drawing used throughout the book.
Print liaison Sue Witts