Silence Speaks Volumes: Exploring Silence in Poetry & Prose

This 5-week course will explore different aspects of silence in writing, including:

• conversations with silence: writing in response to works of art
• connecting with examples of silence in nature, such as nighttime and snow
• the hidden, the invisible and the unexpressed: exploring self-knowledge and self-awareness in fictional characters
• erasure poetry, also known as blackout poetry. This involves blacking out or erasing an existing text to create a new one. We will compose our own erasure poems, and also discuss erasure poems by contemporary poets on the theme of being silenced.

About the tutor

Shelley Tracey is a published writer and creative writing facilitator who has worked with groups in many settings, including reminiscence work and mental health.  Her experience includes journaling courses, writing classes in schools, prisons, health settings, higher education, in the community and voluntary sectors, and in arts centres. She has facilitated many creative writing and memoir classes and workshops at the Crescent Arts Centre, including a week-long writing course in the summer.