About this deal
I have been invited to do the work, or something tailor-made, in hospitals and in hospices, with vulnerable groups: people with sight loss, a loneliness charity, people with learning difficulties, survivors of domestic violence and others.’ You will be welcomed at the Poetry Pharmacy and ushered upstairs to the treatment room. Settle on the chaise for a gentle consultation with Deborah, and afterwards retire to the dispensary café with your prescribed poems for tea or coffee. Imagine if everything this poem claimed were true. If we measured our lives by our hearts’ throbs – by our excitements, our longings and our pangs of misery – just think how differently we’d do things. We’d take risks for the sake of taking them, and fall in love for the thrill of it. We’d sacrifice ourselves for others with ease and grace, because in doing so we’d also be enriching ourselves. There is something about the short encounter and power of poetry that enables people to go straight to the heart of the matter, and fifty per-cent of those who come for a prescription end up using his box of tissues. A thought which you had thought special and particular to you is set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead, and it’s as if a hand has come out and taken yours.
The first session will explore ideas about why poetry matters and how it can help us navigate uncertain times. We’ll learn how to adopt a beginner’s mindset, discover new voices, broaden our tastes, and experiment with different ways of reading a poem. The fourth session will focus on developing habits and practices for doing something creative every day. We’ll explore the challenges of working in imperfect conditions, defying inner critics, seeing and growing what’s good, and persevering with creative habits even when we feel like giving up. Treneman, Ann (28 April 1997). "Media Families: 11. The Siegharts, Mary Ann Sieghart, and her daughter, Evie Prichard; William Sieghart and his wife, Molly Dineen". The Independent. In celebrating today’s fresh voices alongside new work by familiar names, this anthology offers both an overview of the current poetry scene and a great introduction to contemporary poets. Under five broad headings, this short book covers everything from Anxiety and Convalescence to Heartbreak and Regret. I most appreciated the discussion of slightly more existential states, such as Feelings of Unreality, for which Sieghart prescribes a passage from John Burnside’s “Of Gravity and Light,” about the grounding Buddhist monks find in menial tasks. Pay attention to life’s everyday duties, the poem teaches, and higher insights will come.
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The Forward Arts Foundation (a registered charity) was established in 1995 to administer the Forward Prizes and National Poetry Day. [6]
I think there’s a need in all of us to express ourselves, connect intimately in a spiritual, philosophical or thoughtful way with your own life or with the world. And words are the way I found to do that. Tell me about your consultations. Very few people feel really heardthese days. It seems that’s the great gift you’re giving. In 1992, Sieghart established The Forward Prizes for Poetry to help raise the profile of contemporary poetry by new and established poets. The first 45 minutes had me smiling ear-to-ear as I walked. That could have been due to the fact that William Sieghart tugged at my heartstrings by including “You’ll Never Walk Alone” by Oscar Hammerstein II (the anthem of Liverpool Football Club) or it could have been due to the fact that they really did make ‘light’ of ‘heavy’ situations. His method was: stating the condition, and then prescribing the poem, by first explaining it in his own words and then reading it out loud. Deborah has been prescribing poems for many years. Before the Poetry Pharmacy opened, she travelled the country in a vintage ambulance and gave poetry consultations at schools and festivals. Now she has a dedicated consultation room at the shop, complete with velvet chaise longue.Explore the town. Oswestry has a charming town centre with a variety of independent shops and traditional pubs. Be sure to visit the Oswestry Market, which is held every Wednesday and Saturday. The Poetry Pharmacy is also a new centre in the Midlands for poetry and creative writing; The Distillery space upstairs is host to regular reading and writing workshops, as well as arts for health workshops, book launches and open mic’s, with an emphasis on good mental health and well-being. Fittingly, a doctor friend recommended The Poetry Pharmacy: Tried-and-True Prescriptions for the Mind, Heart and Soul to me. I read most of it while too exhausted and headache-y to concentrate on a novel or look at a screen. Sieghart has collected poems (or short extracts of poems) and sorted them by what ills of the soul they might soothe. While feeling OK, I found the brevity of some poems unsatisfying. While feeling ill, however, this was advantageous. It is definitely a good book to read when you feel under the weather. Sieghart's commentary on each poem is thoughtful and well-judged, balancing sympathy, empathy, and pragmatism deftly. The book is divided into five sections: Mental and Emotional Well-Being, Motivations, Self-Image and Self-Acceptance, The World and Other People, and Love and Loss. The divisions, for me, were a distraction but not a reduction since you can read them once as I did, many times or not at all. Not so with the seventy-four conditions, each of which is printed above its poem.
The final session is a collective celebration. We’ll share the fruits of our new habits, and marvel at just how many different ways our group have found to bring more poetry into both our own and others’ daily lives.
Sometimes only a poem will do. These poetic prescriptions and wise words of advice offer comfort, delight and inspiration for all; a space for reflection, and that precious realization - I'm not the only one who feels like this. In this programme, William meets Rebecca who has been experiencing a loss of control in her life due to serious illness, Sarah whose 18 year old triplets are about to the fly the nest and head off to university, and Suzanne who is coming to terms with her role as carer within her family. This was such a gorgeous read. As someone who finds poetry intimidating, I really enjoyed the blend of poems prescribed for different emotional ailments with a bit of context from Sieghart about them, and how they apply to real life. This is mindful goodness; a worthy gift for you or any friend experiencing life’s ups and downs. Maybe not for the serious poetry fans, though. He is founder and Chair of Forward Thinking, a charity that seeks to mediate conflict in the Middle East and to improve relations between the Islamic and Western worlds. He is Vice-President of the Hay Festival of Literature, Chair of CIVIC Libraries Initiative, founder and Chair of Street Smart, Action for the Homeless, Founding Trustee of the Forward Arts Foundation and Trustee of the Grenfell Foundation. He is a former Council Member of the Arts Council England and Chair of its Lottery Panel. He has been a Trustee of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, The Arts Foundation, the RSA, the British Human Rights and Reprieve, among other voluntary posts. That’s why I’ve ended up doing this, I think. I’m probably trying to find my own answers. But I am learning. Is there a habit or routine that has served you?
We’re keen to help people use poetry to aid with ailments of the heart, mind and soul in their personal and professional lives. If you are an individual or a company interested in this, too, let us know. I live with a man of habit and routine. Who is lovely and gentle, kind and generous. And needs to sit with me in the evening and watch something on Netflix.He’s really grounding for me, and really important. In north Shropshire, you`ll find the historic town of Whitchurch, situated alongside the Shropshire Union Canal and surrounded by beautiful countryside and nature reserves. In 1994, he founded National Poetry Day, [4] a day of celebration of verse on the first Thursday of October, which has become an established fixture in the cultural calendar. Events take place in schools, pubs, arts centres, bookshops, libraries, buses, trains and Women's Institutes, and the day is the focus for media attention for poetry. [5] Head to Blists Hill Victorian Town from 6pm until 9pm to soak up the carnival atmosphere as you explore the wonderful Victorian streets after dark.From the start I was overwhelmed by people’s responses, not just to the idea itself and to the theatre, but to the ‘therapy’ session. There is a magical combination of things when someone comes in: they put their feet up, sounds outside are hushed; it is a non-threatening intimate space. The Poetry Pharmacy is exactly what it states in the title. This short read contains poems from a range of authors, all dealing with different subjects, such as bereavement, obsessive love, self image and self acceptance and various others. Danusha Lameris from Bonfire Opera (University of Pittsburgh Press) Everything Is Going to Be All Right Whilst I didn't necessarily love all the poems in this collection (question: is two bullet pointed sentences really a poem? idk) they all made sense with the explanation of their inclusion alongside, and the afflictions of the heart, mind and soul that they intend to treat. It also includes some of my favourites, plus many I hadn't heard of and now plan to read again.