East of England: "Full of Life"
Suffolk Artlink's trailblazing project in partnership with Suffolk County Council Library Service and the English Heritage Outreach Manager was designed to harness the creative writing skills of older people in Suffolk and has proved an unmitigated success, which culminated in the publication of a powerful book of poetry and prose and also a podcast recording.
"Full of Life" captures the poignant work and life recollections of an era long gone but carefully documented and brought to life for generations to come by members of six reading groups across Suffolk.
The material was generated through creative writing workshops with Suffolk At Home Library Service Reading Groups held in Bury St Edmunds, Felixstowe, Halesworth, Ipswich, Lowestoft and Woodbridge. Workshops were led by published poet and founder of the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, Michael Laskey. Michael inspired participants to write creatively on a heritage theme, and made the final selection from each of the contributors for use in the book.
The podcast includes recordings from the sessions and a selection of readings by Michael Laskey and participants. It has been added to the BBC Suffolk Radio's website, Suffolk Artlink.
600 copies of the book were published and are currently available in libraries across the county, or click on the link to download a copy.
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