|
I have been putting together poems by people with dementia since 1993.
Three books of these have been published. They are You are Words (1997) and, in collaboration with photographer Carl Cordonnier, Openings (2000), and in 2009 Dementia Diary, all from Hawker. You can find further details of these books under Our publications.
When I offered some of these poems to a mainstream publisher some years ago I was told that they were "not mad enough". This was, in fact, a tribute to their truth-telling qualities. My purpose in publishing them was the same as that of one of their authors: “Anything you can tell people about how things are for me is important” is what she said.
The poems are fashioned out of the speech of individuals with the condition. I write down or tape-record, and then transcribe, the words of a person. The resulting poem involves selection, but I never add a word. I share the poem back with the person and seek their permission to show to others, and in some cases to publish.
Here is a recent example from a residency I undertook in Cambridgeshire. This poem is by Peter Van Spyk:
It Can Be Done
This is heaven
because for a lot of people it helps them.
You do it on a one-to-one
and that's right.
I feel I'm very lucky
because I've got something like poetry.
I've lots of memories, good and bad.
Most of my friends, they never say a thing -
I think they're frightened:
I've got a friend in London
and he's only phoned once in three years.
We've just come back from Madeira.
My wife noticed it and told me.
I said "I've got Alzheimers".
I could see the same signs.
He was there with his wife.
She had it. On the last three days
we stayed together,
we found a rapport.
I'm pretty healthy.
You're not in it, are you?
I was trying to look at your badge
just to make sure!
Some people can't handle it.
They think, how can they carry on?
But I don't think I want these things round my neck -
I want to live!
I'm not looking to get rid of myself,
I've never even thought of it.
I really mean it:
if you take your courage in both hands
it can be done!
Peter Van Spyk in The Elephant in the Room (2009)
This one is from Ian McQueen, a younger man with dementia from the west of Scotland:
DEFENCE
Bobby was bigger than me.
And when I got it, I got
a right good thwack from this bloke.
He just ladled into me,
and I couldn’t stotter, I was
lying in the playground. Biff. Out.
Bobby was going to get a doing.
And I administered it.
If you steam into me: Stars.
I cloaked myself in my self
and that was good for me.
I got that from him too.
I had my dose
and Bobby had his dose.
Big Al’s bigger than me too,
but I’m not going
to lie down under his blows.
He’s in there. I can still
cloak myself in my self.
You can listen to an interview with me about my poetry work with people with dementia, which was broadcast recently on BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live programme here.
If you want to know more about my non-dementia-related writing work, you can access my other website here.
|
