This week I had the pleasure of listening to the In Conservation With... series for the first time. These are conversations hosted by David Lindo (The Urban Birder) and the latest featured Melissa Harrison (writer and podcaster). At one point Melissa commented that although she wouldn't describe herself first and foremost as a nature writer, … Continue reading Seeing nature writing in a new light
Tag: Writing
How to be an encouraging presence in the writing community
If you have been writing and sharing poetry (or any art really) then you know how much encouragement from others can literally 'give courage' and also cheer you up, strengthen you and help you keep writing in moments when it would be easier to stop. Conversely we probably all know what it is like to hear … Continue reading How to be an encouraging presence in the writing community
Tips for finding inspiration and fuelling creativity
Are you looking for inspiration? Feeling a bit short on creativity? Want a bit of a challenge? Well thankfully, "Creativity is combining two things that already exist but that haven't been combined before", to quote Andrew T Le Peau, (Season 2, Episode 43 of The Habit Podcast) which means that the opportunities for creativity are … Continue reading Tips for finding inspiration and fuelling creativity
Poems in Portuguese
I have only written and shared a few poems in Portuguese and I will include them here, with a rough English translation. My Brazilian bird poems are all written in Portuguese but their grammatical structure works a bit differently so I tend not to think about them as being written in the same way. Writing … Continue reading Poems in Portuguese
Writing in Portuguese
At the beginning of lockdown I was still more or less convinced that I would never write poetry again, and that the spoken word poems and songs were long gone, a passing and past phase never to be revisited. I had been grieving my loss of language for a while (more on that in another … Continue reading Writing in Portuguese
Unmoving mountains and the glory of God
I grew up in a farmhouse in the bottom of a valley with windows facing the hill on the other side of the river, accompanied by a constant watery melody with frequent train interludes. Towering beech trees were visible from every window and with their changing colours and seasonal skies the result was always dramatic, … Continue reading Unmoving mountains and the glory of God
Questioning and creative combinations
A few days ago I read a message that stopped me in my tracks and made me start questioning myself. It was a very simple message - "If possible, when it's ready I would be interested in reading your poem. Thanks in advance". The message was from a Brazilian photographer in response to my request … Continue reading Questioning and creative combinations
Writing – where every step is a step
I took part in an amazingly encouraging workshop on Writing Resilience this morning, organised as part of the Stay-at-home! Fringe Festival and led by Nikki Dudley. The stated aim of the workshop was to "boost your confidence and make you a more resilient writer". And how I needed that! One of the exercises was to … Continue reading Writing – where every step is a step
The art of making things up
I've come to the realisation recently that I don't know how to invent stories or characters. I can't remember ever writing a story about something made up, except for the time I was told off at school for writing a story where my invented character swore - which was unnecessary and inappropriate. When I've written … Continue reading The art of making things up
Once more with feeling
I've been moved to tears reading poems written by other people recently. Yesterday for the first time I cried as I read a poem that I had written. It was a rough interpretation for my husband including full-body gestures for words I didn't know in Portuguese and I still cried when I came to read … Continue reading Once more with feeling
Brazil from the outside in 