The Rev’d Canon Manon James, Dean of Bangor, is preparing to lead our exciting ‘Divine Ordinariness’ poetry retreat 10th-11th March. Manon writes:
Dosed up on Lemsip Max, answering emails about posies for Mothering Sunday, gas bills, and proofs for the Lent eucharist (angus dei again…), sorting recycling and thinking what I need to pack for a training event…. in a gap between meetings and all of this activity I’ve enjoyed spending a few hours with poetry books thinking though what poems would be good for the upcoming retreat ‘Divine Ordinariness’ at Sarum College. It’s this brief and yet expansive sense of space that I have today that I’m hoping to recreate in the two-day retreat.
In the first session I’ll be exploring how the list poem is a useful and practical way of structuring our thoughts. I have often found this exercise very productive for those who are new to writing or lacking in confidence. In the second session we will be looking at how experiences can lead us to deeper reflection when we write about them, and how we can use our imagination to gain insight as well as words, to help us understand ordinary events. In the third session we will be considering how poets are priests, mediating the presence of God, noticing the divine in our lives. In session four we will bring it all together in thinking about how we can find and develop our own unique voice and capture and express what we want to say. There will be an opportunity to share our writing and gain advice. Throughout the sessions we will be hearing from a variety of poets, for example David Scott, Euros Bowen, Marie Howe, Linda Pastan and Danusha Laméris.
If you are looking to find a little bit of time for joy and reflection in the middle of a busy Lent, as well as improve or start up your writing, or even learn more about poetry, come and join us in Sarum College, 10th and 11th March.