In a Masterclass with Sean Taylor, author of children’s books including ‘Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise’, ‘Kiss The Crocodile’, and ‘A Brave Bear’, Writing&Talking Club members from London Metropolitan University were invited to craft their own poetry and reflective written work.
After a series of warm-up exercises, including riddles and ‘puddle poetry,’ Club members explored ways in which similes and metaphors can be used to describe the sky, a park, a bench or summer. ‘Puddle poetry’ consisted of finding five ‘splashes’ (descriptive words) relating to either the moon or the sea, which were then used to write a short poem.
After their writing exercises, Club members had the opportunity to engage Sean in a Q&A to find out more about his journey into the writing industry. Sean offered valuable advice and words of encouragement for the members, including, ‘If you want to be a writer, read. Every time you open a book, it’s like a lesson,’ and, ‘Take a notebook everywhere with you and be observant, there are story ideas around us all the time’.
For their final tasks, Club members wrote about someone they remembered, before writing a piece about how they might be perceived through someone else’s eyes. One Club member remarked, ‘The best part was the remembrance poem. It allowed me to tap into my creative capacity and really reminisce, which is always great’.