Silence Audible

I am a member of the North Herts 'stanza' (local branch) of The Poetry Society poetrysociety.org.uk Poetry ID poetryid.wordpress.com

We meet on fortnightly evenings to write new poems, or sometimes edit existing ones, on a theme, revealed only at the meeting, which one of us has prepared. These prompts can be an idea, something concrete, a specific poetic form and much more. Often the prompter will bring in a set of physical objects to spark the imagination; herbs and spices was a good one, and there will also often be an element of selecting a phrase, word or idea from out of a bag or via some other randomising mechanism.

After news, information and general chat is shared, the prompt is circulated and, if necessary, elucidated, and we start writing, granting ourselves around forty-five minutes before we break for refreshment and more general chat. We love chat. When we reconvene, those who wish to do so (it's usually everyone) read their offering, to some comment, and sometimes a call for a rereading.

One of the things which quickly strikes the newer attendees, and I was no exception, is the speed and dexterity with which the imagination can work, and it is a perception frequently voiced after a collection of poems in very different tones and styles is called into prompted being. Something that I took longer to recognise and appreciate, however, is how special and important is the period of silence that is created while we are writing. A small group of people, (seven to ten on average), bent on a common task, thinking and working in silence, is an unusual circumstance which, for me, exudes a powerful and benign energy, which I now think is what constitutes the most important aspect of these sessions.

Of course, the multiple revelations of what each imagination, and each set of writing skills, brings to a common theme, is fascinating and often joyful, but the monastic camaraderie of the writing is a deeper and more sustaining feeling for me, and a rarer one.

Silent write, holy write.