Have you experienced bereavement? Would you like to learn how writing poetry can help you, and give you a way to remember someone? Would you like to meet people who have also lost someone, in a supportive and friendly environment?

This series of three workshops will help you to use writing as a way of expressing yourself, and finding ways to help you remember someone who has passed away. They will take place in a relaxed environment, mainly in a closed gallery space at the Harris, with visits to some of the museum and gallery displays during the sessions. You don’t have to have had any experience of writing to attend.

The workshops will be run by poet Yvonne Reddick and counsellor Peter Cardew. Peter will be there for you to speak to on a one-to-one basis if you would like some extra support from him.

You are encouraged to take part in all three linked workshops on Wednesdays 23 and 30 August, and 6 September

Session 1 - 23 August

We will spend some time getting to know each other. We will think about a loved one’s possessions and what we remember them by. We will look at some example poems and begin to write our own poem about objects that help us to remember someone we have lost.

Session 2 - 30 August

We will explore the idea of loss through an easy writing exercise about something that we have lost. We will look at some of the Harris Museum’s collections to see how other societies have remembered their loved ones. We will look at some poems about remembering, and learn how to create a ‘memory box’ to help us to remember someone.

Session 3 - 6 September

We will use images such as flowing water to think about life’s ups and downs. We will use paintings at the Harris Gallery to inspire our own poems. You will have the option of sharing what you have written with the group, but only if you want to.

About Yvonne and Peter

Yvonne Reddick is a poet and lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Central Lancashire. Yvonne found that writing about her father’s sudden death in a hiking accident helped her to come to terms with her loss. The poems won a poetry competition and are published by Seren Books.

Peter Cardew is a trained counsellor and psychotherapist. Over the past 25 years, he has worked with bereaved people, students, and parents and carers within alcohol and drug services. He now works for one day a week with Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust, and lectures in counselling at the University of Central Lancashire.