September 2011

Stockport Art Gallery Writers Group

Sunday 11^th September 2011

11-1pm Venue: Main Gallery

Stockport Art Gallery

 

       September Meeting Notes

 

We welcome two new members to the group; Mildred has written poems and stories for numerous years and Maggie who writes poetry. It was great to see you at the meeting and look forward to meeting you again.

1. Attendees

Mildred	Barbara	Chris	Muriel
Jayne (Chair)	Diane	Nigel	Maggie
Linda	Joanne	Cliff	Meshach

 

2. Previous Prompt

The Prompt from last time was a Wordle^TM cloud set by Linda (Appendix A) and to continue to edit the piece of writing until each of the original wordle words had been replaced by similar words.  A Wordle^TM is a group of words generated using computer IBM Research software displayed artistically yet legibly. For further information and to create one yourself visit: http://www.wordle.net/

 

 

 

Name	Used WordleTM	Piece
Linda	Yes	Poem: Wasted. A concise poem in response to Wordle18[1] and spoke of ash; cleansed; and granite.
Barbara	No	Letter: Dear Elizabeth. The author, Brenda, was supportive to Elizabeth in many areas however the letter explained why their friendship had to end. Barbara entered this piece into a competition where there were 153 entries, 11 won and this was one of nine letters to be commended by the judges.
Nigel	Yes	Poem: The shameless Charletton. Inspired by a newspaper article. The poem spoke of a potential victim who remained firm and refused to be duped.
Joanne	Yes	Story: Bro Beaky. Biographical recount of the personal and private life of a fictional comedian.
Maggie	n/a	Maggie wasn’t sure what to bring to today’s meeting.
Mildred	n/a	Poem: Moral Courage.  A gripping atmospheric poem of silence whereby no-one had the courage to speak out when they ought to have had.
Meshach	No	A poem: A Child. Recognising unconditional tender love and giving it to people when they need it just as you would a baby.
Chris	Yes	Story about altered perceptions in the surrounding environment and people when out walking at night.
Muriel	Yes	Article narrating epitaphs on memorial stones in a cemetery and their nurturing and peace giving effects upon one’s mind.
Cliff	No	Story inspired by a newspaper article in which a gentleman driving and escorting a woman out for the evening, what occurred and how it ended.
Jayne	No	Apologised for not having written anything for today.

 

 

 

 

3. Competitions

●          Fiction Crime Writing Competition by Marple Festival in conjunction with an Evening of Crime on 27^th September 2011 at the Carver Theatre. Your story, no more than 600 words, must begin with the lines…“It was an unnerving sound, especially to be echoing across Marple so early on a Sunday morning. Sam Evans cautiously rounded the corner of Market Street and came to a sudden halt…” Your name and contact details must be included in an envelope in a covering letter and not on the story. Submit by 17^th September 2011 to Marple Library, Memorial Park, Marple, Stockport, SK6 6BA; Email: marple.library@stockport.gov.uk; Tel: (0161) 217 6009. For further information visit: http://www.marplefestival.org.uk/competitions.html

 

●          Poetry 2012 Lumen/Camden Poetry Competition by Ward Wood Publishing to raise funds for London Homeless cold Weather Shelters. The poem must be 40 lines or less and be unpublished and be submitted by 14^th February 2012. The fee addressee is Cold Weather Shelter and is £2.50 for one poem or £10 for six poems must be to: Ruth O’Callaghan, 49 Ripley Gardens, Mortlake London, SW14 8HF. Alternatively submit your piece in person at the Camden and Lumen Open Mic Nights. For further information visit: http://www.wardwoodpublishing.co.uk/competitions.htm

 

●          Poetry Putting on the mask Competition by Magma 52. The mask can be abstract, there is no line restriction or fee and the deadline is 31^st October 2011. Submit as an email to: contributions@magmapoetry.com or UK entrants post with an S.A.E. and the author’s name on each page to Laurie Smith, Magma, 23 Pine Walk, Carshalton, SM5 4ES, UK. Winning entries will be published in Magma. For further details visit: http://magmapoetry.com/call-for-contributions-magma-52-%E2%80%9Cputting-on-the-mask%E2%80%9D/

 

●          Non-fiction competition by Manchester Evening News. Your piece must not exceed 1 500 words, be unpublished and be true. Closing date: 31^st October 2011 and the two winners will be published in the paper. Entries must be typed with hardcopies submitted to: A Piece of Your Life, c/o Features Dept, MEN Media, Mitchell Henry House, Hollinwood Avenue, Chadderton, Oldham, OL9 8EB; and e-version attachment to: Writingcomp@men-news.co.uk For further information visit: http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/life_and_style/competitionsandgames/s/1458259_tell-us-the-story-of-your-life-men-launches-new-writing-competition

 

4. Free Writing

Name	Type	Piece
Linda	Poems	Questioned How many times must we forgive? and for what?
Diane	Article	Gave a timeline and noted past terrorism acts often backfire in support campaigns and that its Public Community Support Officers who deal with any resultant anti-social behaviour.
Nigel	Poem	The Last Call from the passengers of a hijacked plane before they die.
Mildred	Poem	Where was I at the time? A normal day shopping in which images of events were witnessed on the shop’s TV screens such as the vulnerability of the collapsing buildings.
Joanne	Poem	Looking back at what occurred to a surviving victim who went to the 10th Anniversary memorial.
Maggie	Article	Thick dust ploughing through a recount of how the event affected some friends were caught within the chaos and described how they ran to safety.
Chris	Article	Recount and realisation of concern for friends and others who had friends air bound to other countries at the time the airplanes were hijacked.
Muriel	Article	Deaths which impact nation such as JFK’s assignation, 9/11 in New York and July 7th in London.
Cliff	Article	Recounted events unfolding and his disbelief as he sat and watched them with his wife.
Jayne	Poem	Recounted how a radio disc-jockey reported and speculated upon incidents as they received them during their live programme.

 

The next meeting is Sunday 8^th October 2011, 11-1pm, Stockport Art Gallery.

The prompt is: The letter I should have written.

Appendix A: Linda’s Wordle^TM

The prompt is a wordle using twelve words. With the help of a word cloud, illustrated below, put the words into the first draft of a story or poem. In the second draft remove what is not necessary. Continue until the word cloud words are removed which have been replaced with similar words.