Branches need a group of people to share and rotate responsibility to avoid burnout and keep fresh ideas flowing
The afternoon optional sessions of Larry Butler's 'Staying Connected' and Steve Dearden's 'Project Planning and Fundraising' gave very different approaches to taking responsibility for ourselves in our work
Larry's workshop focused on group exercises in expressing feelings around work, developing trust and clearing blocks. It was a surprising and thrilling experiential workshop that had everyone involved in a process that has strong staying power
Steve's workshop allowed us all to talk about our ideas for projects and how we might approach funders and make effective applications. More than that, Steve reminded us to take control of our work by really identifying what our dreams were and aiming towards seeking support for them rather than tailoring our dreams to what we anticipate the funder might fund. Generously, Steve had given time to look at proposals in advance of the workshop and invited workshop participants to send developed ideas for his comments afterwards
Kate Thompson brought her extensive therapy and supervision skills to the final session on looking after ourselves as facilitators. She offered a series of exercises and techniques around observation and self-care that participants could use occasionally or as a practice to strengthen their capabilities
Sheelagh Gallagher, Lapidus Chair, hosted the day with the warmth and inclusivity for which she has become known and reminded us of that at the centre of Lapidus are its members who make the networking connection much more than the sum total of individuals
Lapidus Conference 2008
A One Day Conference took place in Bristol on 26th April 2008. Its theme was 'Facing the Future' and it focussed on our Professional Development Programme, working in different healthcare settings and the power of reading in our lives.
Cheryl Moskowitz and Lapidus Chair Wendy French stepped in to deliver a paper by
Celia Hunt
with great enthusiasm: Towards Professionalisation of the Literary Arts
Burwalls Centre for Continuing Education was a great venue
Click here for full details of the programme
Click here for a full list of conference speakers and their biographies
Lapidus Conference 2007 was held at the University of Leicester, 7th-9th September. The theme was Footprints: Leaving Marks
Presentations and workshops used creative writing to explore the marks we carry (our heritage; our ancestry; our experiences...) and the marks we leave behind (our legacies; our impact on other people, on society and on the environment.
Writers and expert practitioners in the fields of health, well-being and creative words provided unique insights and experiential learning in the field.
We had a fantastic and orginal line-up of keynote speakers who provoked, questioned and raised awareness of the marks we leave during our lives.
They included writer, environmentalist and 'eartthpilgrim' Satish Kumar
Prof Sue Thomas
- Professor in New Media at De Montfort University
and Roselle Angwin
writer, poet and workshop facilitator
Workshops and presentations included:
Giving the world a little nudge - Jess Moriarty
A dramatic writing workshop examining the role of storyteller as social commentator. How to use the stage or the screen to ask an audience: "What do you think?" Participants will write autobiographically, drawing on issues that have affected or inspired them in some way.
Poetry Therapy: Leaving new footprints on the page with Sue Ashby
A practical and creative session that explores good practice. It will include structuring a poetry therapy session, group management: group processes and facilitation, working with existing poems to explore personal issues: an opportunity to inhabit the unknown.
An opportunity for you to share and develop your group and therapeutic skills and knowledge.
Voices of the land led by Larry Butler
Language is a virus from outer space (William Burroughs)
A practical workshop both inside & outside, local & global: naming, un-naming & re-naming the known and unknown earth.
How do you speak for plants during a drought?
How do you speak for the polluted river?
How do you speak for the eroded mountain?
How does loss of biodiversity affect cultural diversity?
How does the way you speak/write affect your attitude to your environment?
Literaturetraining, with Cathy Grindrod - Getting to where you want to be
Are you heading in the direction you want with your writing? Would you like the opportunity to explore your goals with the aid of skilled professional development guide Cathy Grindrod?
During this literaturetraining workshop, you'll be able to reflect on where you are now and where you want to be, look at your own skills and strengths and at other resources that could help you to move forward, and then start to plan your next steps, using exercises from literaturetraining's DIY guide to professional development planning.
The writer's role in the healing of self and family - Reinekke Lengelle
Drawing on her Writing and Transformation model and inspired by various resorative writing practices, Reinekke will share some of her own writing and invite you to explore your role as' the writer in the family'.
Maggie Sawkins reading from her first full poetry collection The Zig-Zag Woman (Two Ravens Press).
"The title of the collection derives from the Zig-Zag Girl illusion - a trick where the magician divides his assistant into two thirds so that her middle appears to be displaced to one side. Sometimes in your life you have to displace your heart in order to survive."
Lapidus Conference 2006
Well Lapidus celebrated its 10th Birthday at The University of Kent in Canterbury by exploring the concept of inner and outer journeys
Chair Victoria Field opened the conference with observations on the conference theme of Inner and Outer Journeys, and talked about Lapidus’ journey to date and future directions. Cheryl Moskowitz picked up some of these themes again at the end of the weekend.
Delegates wined, dined and danced to celebrate Lapidus’ 10th Birthday at a party on Saturday evening.
The weekend opened with a presentation by poet and novelist Jackie Kay, who read from her latest poetry collection Life Mask (Bloodaxe, 2005) and other poems and prose. Jackie talked about her experience of meeting her birth father in Nigeria – her article about this encounter appeared in The Guardian the next day – see http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/biography/story/0,,1749251,00.html
Christopher Rush gave a profound and challenging talk on the process of writing his book To Travel Hopefully (Profile Books, 2005), anaccount of his journey in the French Cevennes in the aftermath of the death of his first wife.
Gillie Bolton, author of The Therapeutic Potential of Creative Writing (Jessica Kingsley, 1999) and Reflective Practice: Writing for Professional Development (Sage, 2005) and other key texts in the field, shared the personal experience which informs her understanding of writing as part of a ‘mysteriously magical journey of understanding and recovery’.
A wealth of stimulating material was covered in the following presentations:
Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk - Dave Reeves described his journey on foot to Canterbury, recalling Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales characters who followed the same route, and commenting on what he found on the way
An On-Line Course in Writing - Reinekke Lengelle from Canada talked about the online university writing course she devised and delivers, with insight into the dynamics of distance learning and creative collaboration
Speak for Yourself - Philippa Lawrence’s experience of losing her voice and recovering it with the assistance of a pen and imagination
An Internet Journey – writers Sarah Salway & Lynne Rees talked about a collaboration in which each writer sent an email to the other of 300 words within 72 hours, making a total of 300 messages. Their book Messages is out in May 2006 (Bluechrome Publishing)
Peruvian and Bangladeshi performance poets Sofia Buchuck and Mir Mahfuz Ali made a presentation with Nathalie Teitler from Refugee Action Arts & Culture Project
Navigating Through Mental Crises – Harriet Thistlethwaite on Ted Hughes’ poetry; Wendy French on A Therapist’s Personal Writing; Maggie Sawkins on A Mother’s Journey
Writing as Art or Therapy in Health Settings - Kate D’Lima on her research and questions arising in this complex area
A Female Voice from the Middle East - Haifa AlSanousi on how Arabic Muslim women writers communicate across difference
Edward Thomas: From Critic to Poet – Sara Boyes on the making of one of the great English poets of the 20th century
The Student Nurse’s Journey – Sally Robinson on the Holistic Health Promotion course that forms part of BSc Adult and Child Nursing degrees at Canterbury Christ Church University
Journey to the Centre of the Earth – The Goddess as Healer – Rose Flint on a spiritual and feminine dimension to our relationship with the earth and our creative imagination
Delegates were able to choose from the following participatory workshops and talks:
- THE JOURNAL JOURNEY – Kate Thompson
- WRITING IN THERAPY – CROSSING LANGUAGE BARRIERS AND THEORETICAL BOUNDARIES – Kate Thompson and Jeannie Wright
- MORNING WRITING WORKSHOPS – with Miriam Halahmy
- RIDE ON: A JOURNEY THROUGH BEREAVEMENT AND LOSS – Claire Williamson
- GOING DEEPER – SHAMANIC JOURNEYING AS A TOOL FOR CREATIVE & PERSONAL WRITING – Zara Waldeback
- JOURNEY OF BODY & SOUL – Leah Bartal
- SACRED REPARENTING - Sandy Hutchinson Nu
