I had the pleasure of leading three magical poetry workshops for young adults earlier this month, as part of the Heritage Open Days Festival. These were held at 575 Wandsworth Road, a beautiful and unusual National Trust property. The building is a Georgian terraced house, which was bought by Khadambi Asalache, a Kenyan-born poet, novelist and civil servant, in 1981. Over the course of 20 years he transformed the interior into an artwork, with hand carved fretwork and intricate detailing in every room. He furnished the house with an eclectic mix of objects, including lustreware, kilim rugs, wall hangings and antique inkwells.
The initial plan for the three workshops, under the title In a Strange Place, was developed by Fatima Kashtwari, who was on a placement at 575 Wandsworth Road over the summer as part of King’s College London’s Civic Leadership programme. Together Fatima and I fleshed out the details and selected a sample poem or text for each session, to fit with the theme of the workshop. We also worked closely with Nora – 575 Wandsworth Road’s Visitor Experience Officer – to plan the timeline of the workshops, decide what resources we’d need (including pizza for hungry participants!) and how to promote the sessions.
The workshops ran on three consecutive evenings, and included a tour of the house for participants, discussion of the sample poem or text, writing ideas and prompts, and plenty of time to write. Each session rounded off with us meeting around the dining table with the chance to share some of our writing, if participants wished to, and relaxed conversation about the experience of writing and responses to exploring the house.
Although I’d been lucky to visit the house before, during the day, experiencing the house as evening drew in and night fell was very special. The outside world disappeared and we were held in a magical space of shadows, reflections, gleaming objects and mellow light. Mr Asalache loved entertaining, and would have dozen of candles burning, and fires lit in the fireplaces. For obvious reasons, candles and fires are no longer lit in the house, but that sense of intimacy remains, and something like time travel too.
One of the aims of the workshops was ‘to connect, inspire and empower individuals and communities to unlock their creative potential’. I know I came away feeling inspired by the house, but even more so by the insight and creative engagement of all the young people who took part.
Hilaire 