why wait write now

Reading classical texts & poetry makes you smarter and feel better.  Need proof? Read this passage aloud from King Lear:

"A father and a gracious aged man: him have you madded."

And now this, from Wordsworth:

"She lived unknown and few could know, when Lucy ceased to be. But she is in her grave and oh, the difference to me."

Now, whether or not you were aware of it, your brain just got a big dose of awesome, and a therapeutic whack.The somewhat unfamiliar language in those two passages sparked a higher level of brain activity than if you had read a straightforward prose passage. What's more, the peak your brain experienced after reading the first passage was sustained during the second passage, and may even still be sustained while you are reading what I am writing now, (which as a bonus means you are paying attention to everything i write bwah ha ha!!) 

In a study at Liverpool University, the brain activity of participants reading classical writers (poetry in particular) showed heightened activity, thus boosting the reader's attention and shifting mental pathways to create new thoughts. What's more, increased activity in the right hemisphere of the brain (an area concerned with "autobiographical memory") was observed, which enabled the participants to reflect on and reappraise their own experiences in light of what they had read. 

You can read the whole article here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9797617/Shakespeare-and-Wordsworth-boost-the-brain-new-research-reveals.html

Last week in the workshop we did some found poetry exercises with some unusual words culled from obsolete english phrase books, french texts, dictionaries and other weird sources. The results were terrific! One of the exercises started like this:

Looks like fun, right? It is! Come try for yourself on Wednesday, October 9th from 6-8pm at the Forest Center + (38 Castle Terrace). As always, the focus is on creation rather than revision, so no writing experience necessary. It is however a chance to take some time out from your usual post-work/pre-dinner slump and allow your brain to spark for a couple of hours in the company of supportive folks and some nice tea.

See you Wednesday!