We need more poetry in nursing homes and nursing homes. The last years of life should be enriched with art as much as possible. Poetry has benefits when access to art venues and libraries becomes impossible for older adults. Because poetry is fluid and nimble, it can come to life where it matters: where people are.
Ten years ago, poet Sarah Hesketh spent 20 weeks visiting dementia care homes as part of a project called Where the Heart Is. Her brief is to create no-holds-barred artistic responses to what she finds. “Language was difficult for the residents I worked with, something they now had to contend with and even fear,” Hesketh writes. Her discovery was that poetry can play a role in the lives of people in care homes, sparking new conversations and making the invisible visible. The poems Hesketh wrote, published in The Hard Word Box (Penned in the Margins), are full of objects that define the residents' lives, such as spoons, plates, and baths, and are filled with great warmth and humour. We feel connected to these poems because they are written. People we've never met.
Poetry doesn't work for everyone in every setting, but in care and nursing home situations, it has the superpower of rhythm. Certain poems can activate muscle memory and create instant enjoyment. This is often most effective in the context of shared reading, which is what Liverpool-based organization The Reader excels at. There is also a project called 'Poetry Together', which invites care home residents to write and memorize poems, and a project that invites young people. to do the same. Then we bring them together to share their experiences. The project is the brainchild of Giles Brandreth, who says: “It's truly amazing. Learning poetry together will change your life!”
With over 400,000 people currently in nursing homes, 5,500 different service providers and 11,300 elderly care home facilities, there is real scope for change in the literary world.
The act of writing poetry evaporates everything in us, from the mind to the body to the page, and in that moment, anxiety disappears. We momentarily become poetry itself. Writing poetry can be a very enriching process that releases endorphins that relieve everyday stress and improve your mood. And from there, the creation itself emerges, enabling everything from affirming identity to making private experiences shareable. There are also ways to remove the daunting elements. For example, try collage poetry (poems that cut out words from newspapers and assemble them on the page) or erasure poetry (often called “blackout”), which edits printed articles. , use the marker to cross out unnecessary words and leave the page to reveal the secret poem that was there all along. Writing poetry in care homes is part of the process of starting a conversation, of listening to the people in care, and that's what it really means to bring poetry into these spaces.
This was articulated by the legendary American poet Kenneth Koch when he led a workshop at a nursing home in New York City. “By writing, they found memories that made them happy or unhappy, and they found a way to write poems about the past as well as the present,” Koch said. In his book “I Never Told Anyone,'' which stems from his own experiences, Koch shares some of the sure-fire ways to try your hand at a nursing home, from writing in color to writing a poem in which you become the ocean. It gives me ideas for creative writing.
Mr Hesketh's work with author Dinah Law also extends to providing a space for carers to voice and creatively express their important role in supporting those in their care. Poetry by Carers is a platform dedicated to poems written by carers, inspired by the often overlooked fact that poet Christina Rossetti was herself a carer. “Reclaiming Rossetti's poetics of care is part of a broader process of honoring, rethinking, and reevaluating care in our society,” said Law. This project provides caregivers with valuable time to read, write, and reflect on their experiences, and allows them to connect with others who have similar experiences. As the project points out, one of the barriers to support for carers is that they often do not identify themselves as carers, and poetry is important in helping them find that voice. can play a role. “Poetry can actually do something. Poetry can really help people,” Hesketh and Law say.
There are many dynamic projects in this field, so now is the perfect time for publishers and libraries to step up. With over 400,000 people currently in nursing homes, 5,500 different service providers and 11,300 elderly care home facilities, there is real scope. Bring about change in the literary world.
Libraries can become mobile by bringing their collections to the people who need them. Libraries are often valued by their membership numbers, and most care home residents have been members of a library at some point, so this is beneficial for everyone. Publishers can order anthologies of poems created for this setting, from Burns to Rossetti. There is also the potential for libraries and publishers to work together, with libraries working closely with care homes to help people find their favorite poems, and publishers making them available. In addition to providing book-based social activities and group reading opportunities, libraries can also promote new books to nursing homes and retirement homes.
There is also room for audio labels to get involved. When you read a poem aloud, you can use its rhythm to spark conversation. “It's fun to say things,” Koch says. “It's a special pleasure to say it as a poem.”
