J Lilley: Hearing Voices - words of extinction

Joanna Lilley: Hearing Voices: words of extinction

WORKSHOP

Hearing voices: words of extinction A workshop with Joanna Lilley Is there a way to hear the voices of extinct species and put them on the page? Do you wonder what our fellow creatures would say if we were all able to communicate in the same language? Come to this workshop and bring with you a nonhuman guest of your choice from any eon who no longer exists. Sit, crouch, lie or hover beside them and listen to what they have to say, whether whisper or bellow. Test each of your senses to connect with beings with whom we once shared the planet or who preceded our existence – and perhaps even tune into elements of your own existence you’ve never had a chance to fully explore. Beginners and experienced writers and word artists are all welcome. As part of this workshop, Joanna will share a selection of poems to illustrate some of the approaches she took to connecting with extinct animals for her 2020 poetry collection, Endlings from imagining what the dusty bones of a dodo in a museum might say and perceiving a great auk subculture to reporting on the story of how the very last Labrador duck was shot and travelling back to a planet on which Homo sapiens had yet to exist.

While I am personally a page writer I encourage word artists of all kinds to take part.