Get Involved in Gwanwyn

The Gwanwyn Festival, organised by Age Cymru, celebrates creativity in older age every May. This year, the festival has a particular theme of ‘connection’. 

To help celebrate Gwanwyn, we commissioned the poet Jonathan Edwards to create two new resources that encourage people to try their hand at writing poetry. 

You can pick one or both of the writing prompts below, and have a go at writing your own poem. 

Poetry writing prompt #1: The Everyday, Togetherness, and Letter Poems

One great way into writing poems is to write about things which happen every day. Things as simple as cooking or washing up, pursuing a hobby, watching TV, can result in some great poems. Writing about everyday things which we share with others – a phone call, a conversation, a walk – can result in poems which are celebrations of togetherness and the people who matter to us.

Download the first worksheet here.  

Watch a video of Jonathan introducing the first prompt here.  

Poetry writing prompt #2: A Day at the Seaside 

Another thing that can generate really interesting poems is writing about visits to the seaside. The seaside is such a rich place, full of interesting sounds, sights, feelings and memories, that it can make for great poems. Whether it is the sound of seagulls, the feeling of sand between the toes, or the taste of ice cream, there is so much to write about when thinking about the seaside.

Download the second worksheet here.  

Watch a video of Jonathan introducing the second prompt here.  

Sharing your poem

Once you have written your poem, we would love to see it. You can email a copy or an audio file of you reading your poem to [email protected]. Alternatively, you can post a copy to:

Gwanwyn
Ground Floor
Mariners House 
Trident Court
East Moors Road
Cardiff CF24 5TD

These activities were created by Jonathan Edwards, for the Unearthing Creativity project. Unearthing Creativity is a collaboration between Marion Cheung, Naz Syed, Creative Lives and Age Cymru, and is funded by the Arts Council of Wales.