My last post was in May and a lot has happened since then. Summer is my busiest season and as work for my day job, PhD and freelance projects increased my blog posts and personal writing took a reluctant back seat. Luckily, things are cooling down, both literally and figuratively, and I can now take some time to reflect on the wonderful workshops, events and readings I have enjoyed since May.
Exactly one month ago, Semi-Detached, the thoughtful exhibition by Claire Prosser, wrapped up at ArcadeCardiff. According to Claire this exhibition explored:
an intimacy with a house. Why we may call it home, how it goes beyond means of merely shelter, what it contains of us but also what we contain of it. Its space, its surfaces, its sounds- is engrained within is. When the keys are handed over and we are no longer allowed to enter- how does that house still exist within is?
I wanted my response to create other responses, to allow everyone in attendance to consider what home meant to them. So, I did a short poetry reading which explored my ideas of home – not just the landscapes I inhabit, but also my relationships, my family, my body. Afterwards, I asked participants to write their own lines and eventually we worked together to create our own communal poem. It was amazing to listen to each sentence, watch as stanzas were made and edited, ideas formed and beliefs shared.
Thank you again to Claire for inviting me to take part and to all of those who listened, wrote and read. I hope that the video as well as the photos and poem below can, in part, convey what we made together that day and what home meant to this small group of creatives here in Wales.
Home (Semi-Detached)
I am home when I stop longing for home.
I feel at home in theory.
I feel at home yn yr iaeth Cymraeg
and the sounds of fy’n nhadau a fy’n mamau
rolling around in my mouth.
I feel at home in Cardiff but
it’s different as an adult
than as a child.
I feel at home in ruthless cottages.
I feel at home when I am still and calm within.
Dw i’n teimlo cartrefol pan mae’n prio eira –
I feel at home when it snows.
I feel at home when canine bristles are left
in trails of adventure parks.
I feel at home with a good mug of tea.
I feel at home wherever I build my life
and am happy.
Dw i’n teimlo adre yn freuddwydio –
I feel at home in dreamland.
Christina Thatcher 