‘Finding the right words’- a creative writing workshop to celebrate Black History Month

Because there is too much to say
Because I have nothing to say
Because I don’t know what to say
Because everything has been said
Because it hurts too much to say
What can I say what can I say

Why I don’t write about George Floyd- Toi Derricotte

This October the UK celebrates Black History Month, with events all around the country designed to press for change: the theme this year is ‘Time to Change: Action Not Words’. What does this mean to you? How might you find the right words to say what it means to you? How might finding the right words be action?

As part of Black History Month celebrations at Manchester Foundation Trust, the BAME Staff Network and Lime invite MFT staff to a very special two -hour workshop with poet Zayneb Allak.

This workshop will consider the work of recent poets and you will use simple creative writing exercises to explore ideas in the supportive setting of our Lime Arts Studio.

• No previous creative writing experience required

• All MFT staff welcome to attend

Zayneb Allak is a poet and Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Edge Hill University. She publishes poetry and creative-critical writing and is interested in writing that defies expectations and categorisation. She's currently working on a creative-critical project, Spider Poetics, that explores how writing 'spiders' into being, as well as uncanny themes such as privacy, darkness and the strangeness of our own voices. As a teacher of writing, she believes that everyone has a story to tell and that we can all find the right words to tell it.

This workshop has been co-produced with the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Staff Network as part of their events programme for Black History Month 2022