April 2022 Meeting

 Hightown Writer’s Workshop Meeting Minutes

Tuesday 26^th April 2022 at 7.30pm in the Spirit Room at Peepo

Present: Liz, Adam and Martin   

Apologies: Jennie, Marie, Sue, Andy, Kath, Stuart and Paul

Chair: Liz

We spent a while talking about the new media like Tik Tok and local internet apps.

Our ‘warm-up’ activity was to write a triolet poem on any topic. A triolet is a French verse form which consists of eight lines utilizing the ABaAabAB rhyming scheme.

Adam took the ‘Big Bang’ and Liz explored the ‘TikTok’ phenomenon amongst youngsters as their triolet themes. Martin took it as 'homework' and contributed 'Shopping List.' All triolets will appear on the blogspot! Absent members are invited to have a go and share.

We all reflected on how differently different writers interpret the same prompt. This became particularly apparent when we shared the writing we had prepared on the theme, ‘That House With The Red Roof’. Martin and Adam both wrote uplifting, colourful pieces set in an idyllic childhood English countryside and an imaginary sci-fi/fantasy Himalayan world respectively.

However Liz’s acrostic poem was more sombre and influenced by the ongoing Ukranian conflict. It was prompted by the thought that so many beautiful European tourist destinations characterised by terracotta red roofs and sparkling blue skies have been and often still are where dreadful wars are being and have been fought. We think of terracotta as warm, welcoming and safe but it’s just a soulless witness to so much evil – and has been for thousands of years.

We wound up our meeting at 9pm as Peepo’s is still closing early and briefly revisited the idea of a weekend meeting that everyone who works could attend without stress.

Hightown Writers Workshop – next workshop meeting

Tuesday 24^th May 2022

At 7.30pm

The Spirit Room, Peepo’s Italian Restaurant,

Chair:  Liz or another volunteer!!

Writing Theme:  Your character finds a strange looking egg in the forest. Thinking it will make a great decoration they take it home. What hatches surpasses their wildest imagination.