During his two year tenure, your new Hampshire Poet - Damian Kelly-Basher - will be writing a series of blog posts for us sharing what he has been up to, telling us his poetic plans for the future, and inviting you to get involved in poetry in Hampshire. Read on to find out what's happening in Damian's world!
In this blog, Damian discusses memory.
November is a remembering month.
1st-2nd All Hallows Tide. An ancient Christian festival remembering the dead. But the Mexican “Day of the Dead” is now a global commercial brand with colourful skeletons and skull merchandise.
5th ‘Firework night’. Guy Fawkes tried to blow up The Houses of Parliament in 1604. We remember this by lighting bonfires and fireworks.
11th Remembrance Day. Remembering those who died in the 20th Century’s Two World Wars.
But remembering is complicated. Ageing and dementia can remove or change memories. The Internet holds information on ALL of us. Even when we can’t remember, our social media does. Governments and corporations control information deciding what we’re told; and so, what we remember.
What will remembering mean now that AI changes photos, creates ‘news’ and we live more in ‘virtual reality’?
October was Black History Month. So, it’s important to keep remembering that the histories of millions of fellow humans and their suffering (e.g. slavery) has been/still is systematically unreported. Many global majority writers now write to recover and publicise the real story of indigenous people so that they are not forgotten.
Writing prompt.
Write a poem about remembering.
It could be a person, an object, some time or place.
You could write about memory-related themes; reflections on childhood, ageing, dementia or mental illness.
How might an animal, tree or mountain remember?
Or write about memory faced with AI and virtual reality. What about computer ‘memory’?
Have fun. Writing should always be fun.
Damian Kelly-Basher is Hampshire Poet Laureate 2024-26. The appointment of the Hampshire Poet takes place every two years and is jointly led by Winchester Poetry Festival and Hampshire Cultural Trust. The position of Hampshire Poet provides the opportunity for a Hampshire-based poet to undertake commissions, lead workshops and give readings and talks throughout the county, as well as acting as an advocate for poetry and poets.
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