A generalised outline of my third year project so far:
I wanted
to pick a subject matter for this project that really mattered to me, so that I
could sustain a keen interest in my chosen topic for an entire year. Because my
life is still rooted in the world of higher education, I have decided to write
about my family, whose lives span 3 different continents and plenty of near
misses (my father especially). Because of this, the first poetry collection
that really motivated me was ‘The Other Country’ by Carol Ann Duffy, which
focuses on the roots of her heritage. My Grandmother (born in the under-populated
Highlands of the Scottish countryside) got married in her early twenties after
leaving nursing school and moved her entire life (and that of her two children)
to Swaziland. This move was due to my Grandfather’s job in the pulp mill
industry sending him overseas to areas within the former British Empire.
Due to
the stories handed down through our family, the feeling of a childhood spent in
Africa has somehow infiltrated the perception of my paternal origins. Given
that the younger generation within the family are only permitted glimpses into the
alien world of searing heat and the polarised neighbourhoods of extreme wealth
and poverty, I didn’t (and still don’t) have a clear vision of Africa in my head.
The parts which were told however (the more adventurous and often dangerous
trials of living in the developing world) were told often. At barbeques, at Christmases, at family dinner parties, and any
time that it was even remotely appropriate. Part of this, I know, is the simple
stage-presence and attention-loving nature of the people telling their own
stories, but alternatively it also feels like a method of preservation. Some
became learnt by heart, my Dad’s mannerisms predictable down to the letter (the
look of surprised horror as my Grandfather missed the motorway exit for Durban for
the eighth time etc etc). More interesting by far however is the unveiling of
new information on old stories, as something is remembered, rephrased, or prompted.
There is an odd feeling of displacement attached to the realisation that neither
my cousins, brother or I am part of the events we all know so well, simply part
of the retelling. In a sense, that is why I would like to centre my project on
the mythological truths surrounding my upbringing and family – with every
different retelling the storyteller puts a little of their own spin on the
events, carrying them further from what happened, but also enriching them with
detail.
Although
‘family’ seems a gargantuan topic to encompass in one poetry collection, I have
chosen several more interesting members of the family to explore in greater
depth. These will be my father, maternal grandmother, great aunty Beatrix (who
was actually my great grandmother on my mother’s side), brother, cousins and (going very far back) the clan from which my last name originates, in the Highlands of Scotland.
Loving
visual aspects of poetry as I do, I would also like to manipulate the layout of
my project into looking like a photo album. This would mean the poem on one
side of the page (in the space you usually find the comments about the picture)
and the image next to this.
Although
I only have experience of writing poems of relatively short length, I would
also like to try and make my project into a continuously flowing timeline. This
would mean having 15 ‘parts’ to the larger story, rather than 15 individual
poems.
Although
I have yet to focus in on one individual ‘style’ of poetry, at the moment I
would love to produce a narrative which matches up to the section of story it
is revealing. For the portions of story unknown, there would be gaps within the
line and a jolting sense that important information has been eroded away. Similarly,
on sections of my history that I am particularly clear on I would like to give
an almost prosaic style. One decision I am considering at the moment is whether
or not to incorporate Scottish colloquialisms into some of the poetry. Words in
Gaelic, for example, might feel exclusive to a reader. However, this is a
decision I will discuss further on into the project.
