Holocaust by Anne Ryan-Thomas

Grey surrounds me, somehow filtrating into my stomach and exiting as nausea. I am lost. I rest a minute, leaning against the nearest surface which absorbs the chaos from my head and body. I pull myself off and tackle the ground ahead which resembling corrugated iron now rewires my stomach to my feet as they ebb and flow along.

I'm alone yet walk alongside other confused and disoriented people. Most of us wander around in silence although one bedraggled looking woman shouts out for someone called Eva, maybe her daughter. No-one stops to help.

We walk mainly parallel to each other like chess pawns, imagining the multitude of ways the enemy can strike. A cylinder accidentally shoots at me as I turn a corner but misses as I retrace my last step. The man catches his intended target.

I've lost all my family in here. Dispersed. Will I find them again amongst these walls? I must do, we came here together and must leave together.

The clouds break, I see a distant haze of blue gradually getting stronger.

The pounding in my ears keeps in time with that of my heart and feet and the nausea slightly subsides. The grey remains in the form of structures which cast regular, almost regimented shadows. Light follows shadow, then light again. Patterns: I grasp their safety. Youths huddle in twos and threes, gaining their safety from togetherness. Shutting the rest of the world out: they forget where they are.

The air is suddenly still. I stop. The ground remains uneven beneath. I find a level patch and place myself firmly. I catch my breath. The sky is completely clear now, so near to feel it's breeze again yet still too far. I carry on, desperate to find the others. Hushed voices and even children's laughter echo around but none of them are theirs.

I see trees ahead; the breeze suddenly feels stronger. The shadows becoming shorter. I stop. Straight ahead I can see a gap. My hands tremble as I realise I could get out here. I need to locate my family but also need to get away from this place. I reach the gap.

I see them straight ahead, they have found this exit also. They sit on a low grey plinth eating ice cream and laughing. They have saved one for me but it has melted. I place myself back in reality: Holocaust Memorial. Berlin. August 2013.

Our member's books available on Amazon

One of our members, Michael Hill, now has some books available to download from Amazon for Kindle.

Death in a Bus Shelter is a detective mystery surrounding a young girl’s murder which explores the detective’s relationship with the murder victim.

Thoughts of a Poet is a collection of poems touching on various aspects of Michael’s life.

Check them out here and here if you want to purchase a copy.  

Nice November

For this month's session, three of our members brought some items which kick-started the group's imagination and inspired them to write poems and stories. These items were collected from India, the Philippines and the UK. They include:

~ a figurine of the Taj Mahal
~ a real peacock feather
~ a figurine of an Indian goddess
~ a booklet of Tagalog instructions of how to pray with a Rosary
~ a bottle of eucalyptus-scented oil
~ an oyster shell
~ a charm bracelet from the 1940s
~ a piece of broken pottery found in a beach
~ and some horse brasses

Our members came up with different and interesting drafts. We had a poem about a potter, a poem about letting go and moving on, an interesting piece about a man who goes to church to 'cleanse' himself, a piece about the beauty of a peacock, and many more.

We definitely had a great time writing and we hope to post some of our finished works here soon. Watch out for that! :-)

Launching kulikohli.co.uk!

Our member Kuli Kohli is riding high following the success of her debut collection, Rag Doll. This week, she has launched her website, packed full of information about her life and writing.

Kuli’s life has been full of challenge and adventure in equal measure, and her work reflects this dichotomy thoughtfully. Now there’s one central place to learn about all things Kuli!

We’re very proud to have Kuli as a regular and leading member of Blakenhall Writers, and wish her all the best in her continued success.

Why not take a peek at her website and learn more about this inspiring woman?

The lovely Kuli - picture courtesy of Kuli Kohli

Offa's Press Poetry Day

On Saturday 11th October, three of our members - Kuli, Roma and Cherry - attended a poetry workshop and walking day run by West Midlands-based publisher, Offa's Press.

We set off up the A5 for Pant, a village just outside of Oswestry in Shopshire. Unfortunately there was a broken bridge after we’d turned off the main road, so we had to take a short diversion across the border to Wales! But we were only in Wales for a few yards before we saw the ‘Welcome to England’ sign again!

We arrived at Pant village hall and made ourselves comfortable over tea and biscuits. Once all were present and accounted for, we began the first workshop. The theme of the day was ‘work.’

First, we examined poetry about different aspects of work, by such poets as Seamus Heaney and Maya Angelou. They ranged from paid work to housework and used work in different ways. We then did an exercise discussing our best and worst jobs, and knuckled down to write some poetry about work. It was interesting to hear the kinds of jobs people had done throughout their lives.

The threat of rain had cleared so we set off for a walk over nearby Llanymynech Rocks. We wound our way up the hillside, meeting some new personalities along the way!

On the ascent

New friends

Llanymynech Rocks is the site of some old lime kilns, where fertiliser was created by burning limestone quarried from the rock face. We passed by the kilns and the pits before heading up to see the quarry area. There is a lot of remaining evidence of the work which once took place there, including intact railway tracks and metal figures of the workers.

Metal statue of a worker

We settled down for lunch by the large, stripy rock face, where we were joined by some woolly friends! They stole the show as we all marvelled at their black fleeces and friendly demeanour. They live on a nearby farm and are let into the reserve to eat tough plants during winter, allowing wildflowers to flourish in the spring.

Picnic time!

Sheep scaling the dramatic rocks

After lunch we made our way back down the hill, ruminating on the industry which once bloomed there and how it affected the whole community. We arrived back at the village hall for our second workshop of the day, writing poetry which reflected the signs of work we had examined during the walk. It started to rain just as we got inside – what good timing!

There was a brief interlude before we were all due to meet at the local pub for our evening meal, and the three of us were invited my the manager of Offa’s Press, Simon Fletcher, to have a tea and cake break at his house, which was just down the road! We had a pleasant time discussing the day, Offa’s Press and writing in general, as well as admiring all of the artefacts Simon has collected over the years!

We met in the local pub and had a relaxed evening meal, before each having the chance to perform our poetry. Some people performed poetry they’d written during the day, and some had brought poems they’d already written on the theme of ‘work.’

Our girls enjoying the pub meal

For the finale of the evening, we were joined by Offa’s Press poet Dave Reeves, who entertained us with melodic renditions of his West Mids-dialect poetry, accompanied by his harmonica and squeeze-box!

As the night drew to a close we said our goodbyes and set off back through the darkness and fog of the winding Shropshire lanes! Roma entertained us with ghost stories as we laughed about the highs of the day.

All three of us had a wonderful day, and highly recommend going along when Offa’s Press set up their spring workshop.