80 people with dementia from across 6 residential homes on the Isle of Wight have been experiencing the wonders of poetry thanks to local charity Independent Arts.
Workshop coordinator Kerry Tindall and creative writing practitioner Ann Emery, together with other supporting writers, have spent the past 18 months encouraging residents to read aloud poems together in small groups, sharing the experience of poetry and the sound of words, the memories and images they conjure up and recall.
Practitioners have gone on to work individually with the participants to record and write down their responses.
‘The Poetry of Dementia’ is an exhibition of 19 panels that Independent Arts have made together using specially created photographic images by Kate Ball that sensitively interpret rather than simply illustrate the words spoken by the participants. The images repeatedly play with space and scale to conjure up visual distortions and pose interpretive questions that underpin what’s going on with the language.
The exhibition ‘Poetry of Dementia’ is on display at Newport Library until 23rd November. Entry free.
Words by Guy Eades
