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I’m delighted to share that I will be reading poetry at Ilkley Literature Festival on Sunday 14 October 2018. I’ll be sharing the stage with Maya Chowdhry, Nick Makoha and Rishi Dastidar to promote the new anthology Filigree: Contemporary Black British Poetry, which we will all be published in.
Edited by Nii Parkes and Inscribe Series/Peepal Tree. Editor Kadija Sesay.
Host on the day is Pete Kalu.
Reading at Ilkley Festival is something I have always wanted to do. Being included in this anthology, which includes a wealth of Black British writers, is a huge honour. I am indebted to Nii Parkes and Kadija Sesay for their brilliant editing, encouragement, nurturing and support.
Featuring past and present writers from Malikas Poetry Kitchen.
Message from Sable Poet-in-Residence Patricia Foster:
I am still ecstatic and floating, after receiving my award for Poetry Services, within the Art and Culture category, at the empowering awards event Together We Rise.
I had written an acceptance speech, but instead ended up speaking from the heart. I was immensely overwhelmed, as well as inspired by all the other award recipients and their amazing stories. A lot of the women, including myself, had overcome incredible obstacles, to accomplish what we have today.
“Day in, day out we work hard, in our life purpose without little or any recognition. Thank YOU MGT and GCC for the award!” ~ Patricia Foster
Photo: M. Foster
The event was organised by the MGT and GCC, based in Brixton, who do a lot of work in the community, in particular to uplift and empower young girls.
Photo: M. Foster
A most memorable night indeed. Hopefully the first of many awards. Feeling very grateful and honoured. A big thanks to ALL who provided support, my family, friends and the writers and poets who came before me, to pave the way and make it easier for me to receive this award. In particular a big thanks to the founders and ALL members of Malika’s Poetry Kitchen.
Welcome to ‘You Are YOU’ Holistic Coaching, Empowerment, Talks, Wellbeing & Training Services – Specialising in Life Transitions.
We provide coaching, empowerment, healthy eating and mentoring services to individuals and groups, as well as facilitate workshops at conferences, seminars, events and within community organisations and libraries.
As individuals, we are ALL created uniquely beautiful. Some of us have gentle dispositions and are therefore misunderstood. Some of us are extremely sensitively wired and are therefore misunderstood. Some of us will NEVER fit into the mould of acceptable looks, or acceptable past times. It’s about having patience with and being accepting of others, instead of demonising them…because they are not like you!
Some of us may not have explored communication tools that can best express our thoughts or feelings, so may have difficulty in responding to harsh words or criticism, or are unable to articulate the inner pain connected to these harsh words. Speaking out against harsh, critical words may therefore be a huge challenge.
Some of us may feel unsupported, because we are unable to find the right person to express our innermost thoughts and feelings to, without the fear of our expressed feelings being thrown back in our faces.
There is a saying “hurt people hurt people”. Research has shown that those who are unhappy within, or are in pain themselves lash out or bully others, therefore hurting their intended target too.
I performed poetry at a recent ‘Loose Muse’ women’s writing event and a courageous young lady shared her own, deeply personal experiences of being bullied and subsequently wanting to take her own life. She mentioned also that in the area of south London where she resides, suicides among teenagers, in particular GCSE and A Level students were at a ridiculously high number. This was not just due to the pressures of life, but also about how some are made to feel by harsh comments and treatments by others.
Today, I read a Facebook post, which outlined the last Tweet posted by a young man, tormented over the years about his sexuality. He was commonly referred to as “a loser, freak and fag” and used this to describe himself in his last Twitter message. He felt he had done the world an injustice and therefore took his life.
Without the right support and understanding from others, when will people cease to remove their inner pain, torment and feelings of being misunderstood by taking their own lives?
Some of us will never be accepted, because we are moulded and act differently.
How can those of us who are emotionally stronger step in to help prevent bullying and help support and encourage those who are being bullied or misunderstood?
In my workshops and through my writing I have focussed on this, as I have also been bullied and victimised by others. I therefore choose to use my art and holistic and well-being tools to help stand up to this. Writing and coaching can be useful ways to express pain, as well as feel accepted and valued within.
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