FEATURE
You’ve five skinned planks with five shiny trinkets, On the ends, they grip, they bend, But with that comes strain, And with that comes pain. Skin as shiny as the moon on calm sea, Coarse hair like blades of grass, I see. Were you always like this? Will you be for all time? Will my grasp change to something far beyond my mind? A body like yours, or a body like mine, Can’t be explained by intelligent design. Extract from Human Being Reborn by The Naturally Selected, Newcastle.
From Each Timeless Echo Each Footstep by Edinburgh Young Writers
feedback has been highly positive. Engaging young people from Newcastle’s suburban council estates who express a profound appreciation of their experience illustrates well the viability of imaginative and bold efforts to engage young people with scientific themes. Their film/poem about natural selection and intelligent design is humorous and punchy.
The opportunity to engage with scientific ideas proved a productive way for young people to explore the use of language to dissect and examine ideas and attitudes.
The religious beliefs held by some participants presented a serious obstacle to their engagement with Darwin’s science and particular challenges to the scientists and poets. It was useful and necessary to have absolute clarity about the purpose of the project, its educational function, the distinct natures of scientific theory and religious beliefs. Poetry’s economical and selective use of language helped us interrogate meaning and metaphor, highlight pseudo-scientific inaccuracies and encourage logical thought and analysis.
The young poets found the experience made a great impact on their writing, it broadened their approach and their interest in science. “I was surprised at how interesting the topic was” “ it was surprisingly interesting”,” the people in it were actually really cool, mostly not nerds at all.”
The performance element offered challenge for most but increased their confidence and motivation. One of my objectives was to give young poets the opportunity to infiltrate non-arts settings In addition to theatres, arts centres and pub poetry events we performed at:a scientific conference; a shopping centre; private views of science exhibitions;for a lecture audience at a zoo and to leading international scientists gathered for the Cambridge Darwin Festival launch. To date a total of eighteen performances have been attended by 1805 people.
In November a selection of the poetry and films from each city was showcased at a public event at the Welcome Collection in London. Young poets shared the stage with award winning writer, hip-hop artist and jazz musician Soweto Kinch. Soweto, was commissioned by Evolving Words to create a new work inspired by Darwin and Evolution. All these performances can be viewed on the website,
www.evolvingwords.org. What’s next? Performances at the Bluecoat Chambers in Liverpool for the north-west contingent and an arts and science festival in Amsterdam, screenings of the films and various festivals, new poems from Norwich to add to the Evolving Collection on the website. During this International Year of Biodiversity the work continues to resonate. a
Contact: E:
admin@evolvingwords.org
W:
www.evolvingwords.org
Above: Polar Bear and Cambridge Poets ©
LiquidPhoto.co.uk Left: Cambrige young poets with skulls © Djuke Veldhuis
“I’m a lot more interested in science now, because I understand it and know how things work.”
Craig Walker, 19, Newcastle
“Djuke and Polarbear were mad and brilliant, and helped us create.”
Carn, 17, Cambridge
Each timeless echo each footstep down Pennywell Road to Crammond beach I wonder what Darwin’s words would’ve been the furrow brow of youth’s uncertainty in the scatter of the stars fishing for thoughts with his pockets full of barnacles and sand listening to the beat of a beetles wings and the smell of sea over land.
From Each Timeless Echo Each Footstep by Edinburgh Young Writers
FACTFILE
Evolving Words partners were: National Library of Scotland (John Murray Archive), Centre for Life Newcastle, World Museum Liverpool, University of Liverpool, Manchester Literature & Science Festival, Manchester Museum, University of Birmingham and Cambridge Darwin Festival. Arts partners included North Edinburgh Arts, Customs House, South Shields, Young Identity Poets, Manchester, NU Century Arts, Birmingham and The Junction, Cambridge.
mailout science and poetry 19
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