Norwich walk:
Found Poems /
Found short stories
Great news, the words of your poem (or short story) are already out there, you just have to find them! A 'Found Poem' does exactly what it says on the tin: find words or phrases from elsewhere, rearrange and make them into your poem.
Wellbeing impact:
This activity helps you to be curious about and connect with your surroundings, increases concentration and inspires creativity.
​Connection is key in the story of the Pastons in Norwich. The city is where they made strategic allegiances with other gentry families and notable figures to socially advance the family. Today, as a UNESCO City of Literature, it is fitting that our tour guide is John Paston III, who collected a 'Grete Boke' of numerous texts. In the seventeenth century collection of letters, we find Sir Robert Paston says to his wife Rebecca: “I gasp after your letters every day … your conversation by penn is the pleasantest thing in the world to mee” ('Whirlpool', p.343). Inspired by a family who love words, our writing prompts are all about the thrill of hunting for words.
Finding Poems in Norwich in 3 steps
-
Resource: Just be curious. As you go on the Norwich walk, take a note of around 15 to 20 words or phrases that speak to you. These could be from the Paston information boards at St Peter’s Church, Hungate or Maid's Head Hotel, or inscriptions in the Church or Cathedral. It might be that key words stand out from the audio tours. It could be later in the walk at the Castle, if you visit the Paston Treasure painting. It might just be from today’s shop notices and signs, a newspaper or billboard, a word shared by a walking companion. Just whatever catches your attention, collect words hat you notice, without any deliberations as to why, value, or coherency. Just notice.
-
Preparation: Now sift and select key words and phrases from those you have collected that seem particularly meaningful or interesting to you. To help with this, identify a theme or emotion that represents some or all of the words and phrases you have selected. Focus on individual words /phrases and think about how they flow and work together around this particular theme and message. Once you feel you have enough selected, read over your list. Add or remove words or re-use words as you wish.
-
Use these thoughts to spark your writing. Let your writing flow. Some people find it useful to set a timer, or you can work at it on and off as you wish.
Top Tips
- Don't worry about the storyline when composing your list - it's not important!
- The poem you’re making can be short — just a few lines — or long. See what emerges.
- You may find it useful to write your words and phrases on slips of paper, so that you can lay them out and move them around until you are satisfied.
- Consider having key words on lines by themselves to emphasize them.
- Read aloud as you arrange the words. Test different line breaks based on the rhythm of the way you want the ideas to be expressed.
Challenges
- On a different day use the same story extracts and reorder differently, see where they take you today.
- Or this time don’t add any words, only use the ones found (but you can re-use words).
- Or be artistic, merge your poem with photos of the original sites of your ‘found words’. Be crafty!
- Write a Found Poem from the fuller Norwich Paston stories on thisispaston
- Shape the words to the shape of an object or idea related to the poem’s content.
Inspiration from the letters
In addition, or instead of the walk, you might wish to dig deeper with Found Poems as a way to experience and connect to the Paston letters.
1. Resource: Pick any one (maybe be Margery Brews' Valentine letter, the reference to the Maid's Head Hotel, or one of John Paston III's that relate to this trail. Letters are free to view here: This Is Paston: Search the Paston Letters and Documents. You could do a character or place-name search to get a selection. Pick out key phrases or words that stand out for you.
​
2. Preparation: In the scenes the Pastons write about, imagine hearing the Pastons talk, what key words or phrases are stressed, repeated, echo your feelings or theme?
​
3. Use the key words or phrases that stand out to you to begin your writing.
​​​
We would love to read your work! Or, if you like to perform your poetry, view it!
Submit to pastonfootprints@gmail.com and we may publish in our 'creative gallery' or Youtube channel. We publish with a CC4 licence.