Gathering the Clans

NWP secretary and Wembley group convenor Alison Jermak explores the different ways that writing can be performative.

Reading Rebecca White’s poem ‘Dear Gavin’ makes me think about the performative elements of writing as a member of a writing group, or as a member of a class in which everyone (including the teacher) is writing together. Why is it important that the teacher is writing with the class? Because they become a participant, not a judge or a critic.

When starting to write we enter an ‘uncertain space’. This can appear as the blank sheet of paper, or when writing in a group or class, we are also conscious of the people in our writing environment. What characterises the kind of writing that NWP UK practices is the spontaneity of the writing (unplanned) and the performance of sharing this writing by reading it aloud to the group.

Although Rebecca’s poem is addressed to our current Education Secretary, she is really writing to her group in her time: herself and her colleagues. Through writing together, she is able to redefine who teachers are in our current context of politicians using the media to try and manipulate public opinion of teachers. Upon reading her writing aloud to her teachers’ writing group for the first time, it’s dramatic, disruptive, it’s being right in the middle of the action. In my experience in a classroom, when children begin to write together for their audience and read it aloud, this is when writing really comes alive for everyone present.

Sharing writing aloud within a group or class is also the importance of being listened to and acknowledged; not only that the meanings that you are communicating matter, it is also the meanings that you are reaching for, for this is culture in the making.

Let’s also consider the performative element of teachers repeatedly gathering in public places and writing together:

What teachers are doing is practising writing in the way that they would like to teach it.

A lifeline for poetry

NWP Free Spaces Group Convener David Marshall explains some of the challenges of running an NWP group - and why it’s worth it.

I run the London ‘Free Spaces’ group, which meets once or twice a term in different museums and galleries around London. Recently, we’ve been moving towards twice a term, as one didn’t feel quite enough. There’s around 5-7 people who regularly attend and there’s quite a lot of ‘silent’ members, who are on the email list but never attend or participate. I give people the option of being removed from the list, but few ask to be removed. I’d like to think that, though some don’t attend, they like being part of the group nevertheless. The way I see it, it’s important that the group meets regularly so that everyone knows that it’s meeting. That way, there’s always the option for people to come along one day, even if they never have.

One of the challenges is getting more teachers interested. I try to spread the word, but my network is quite limited. The other thing I’m aware of is that most of the regulars are either retired teachers or work in private schools (like me). It is very important for anyone in either of these two categories, but sometimes, I feel like I want it to reach more teachers on the front line of education. But something I remind myself is that the people who come are those who want to be there, and it must be important to them for them to give up their time.

I’m very committed to the group and to running it, even though I’m a full-time teacher. I took over when I returned from living abroad about 3 years ago and found that the group hadn’t met since I left. I emailed round and we started up again. We go to a range of places but find it’s easy to rotate to some of the same ones, particularly places that are central and have big cafes!

For me, the NWP is important because it’s a writing community. I’ve taken writing workshops and courses, some lasting several months. But there’s something great about a community because you’re there for each other over a long period of time and can build relationships. The meeting up for a chat is as important as writing together, sharing work and giving feedback. Often we find the writing leads on to a discussion about world events, politics and other things. It’s like it’s a catalyst for having important conversations that we don’t often have at home or with our colleagues.

It’s also important to me because it’s how I started writing poetry. I attended a workshop run by Jeni Smith and Simon Wrigley about 10 years ago at the British Library (during the NATE conference). Someone mentioned that it was important for English teachers to write in order to be able to teach writing. After this, I started writing regularly and set myself the challenge of writing a poem a day for a year. This got me into it, and helped me to improve. I continued writing regularly, sometimes taking classes and entering competitions or sending work to publications (very little was published). In Shanghai, I was part of a poetry group that produced a home-made zine and hosted open mic nights.

Since returning to London, I haven’t been doing as much writing. It’s been harder to find the time and so the NWP group has been a bit of a lifeline for poetry, keeping it going at least once or twice in a busy term. My aim is to get back to writing little and often. I think I’ll need to set myself a challenge like I did before.

However, there’s no doubt it has affected and improved my teaching of writing. I think the most important change is that it’s helped me to understand how difficult writing actually is. It has given me much more empathy, because I know that I would struggle with certain tasks just as much as the children do. Thinking a bit like a writer also helps me to spot where improvements could be made in a child’s work. It means I’m more able to see, not just what the child needs to do, but how. I can show them the way to make a change in their own writing.