Synaesthetic Poetry
An online workshop with Sean West
DATE: Monday 12 June from 6.30-8.30pm AEST
LOCATION: Online via Zoom
Sensory details are integral to crafting great poetry. In this online workshop, participants will be encouraged to explore the concept of ‘synaesthetic poetry’. Synaesthesia is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway, creating an overlap of two or more senses (I.e. a sound stimulates a visual experience such as seeing a piece of music as a painting or animation).
In this workshop, you will simulate synaesthesia and play with sensory pairings to push your creative practice to new and unusual places. You will be encouraged to taste visual images, visualise your favourite music as images, personify your favourite colours, characterise your favourite tastes, and articulate your loved one’s voices as textures against your skin. These unconventional prompts will encourage poets to embrace their neuroplasticity, regardless of writing experience.
Outcome:
Finding a new approach to writing poetry through synaesthetic brain exploration.
Unblocking writer's blocks and struggles.
What you need to participate:
Zoom and a reliable Internet connection
This workshop is suitable for:
Anyone! Emerging, established or new poets should all find this workshop accessible and engaging, as the structure isn't built on established poetry conventions and will take a "teach from the heart" approach
Ticketing:
Tickets are priced on a sliding scale, from concession/unwaged ($30) to full/waged ($40) to generous supporter ($50), i.e. subsidise a concession ticket by choosing to pay a bit extra).
One free ticket is reserved for a person experiencing financial hardship — please get in touch.
Upon booking, you will receive email confirmation and, closer to the workshop, further instructions and a Zoom link.
About your facilitator:
Sean West is a Meanjin-based Autistic poet, support worker, and workshop facilitator. His recent placings include the Queensland Premier’s Young Publishers and Writers Award, the SCWC Poetry Award, the XYZ Prize for Excellence in Spoken Word and the Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize. His debut chapbook, Gutless Wonder, was published by Queensland Poetry in 2023. He is the founding editor of Blue Bottle Journal and works for Ruckus Slam Brisbane. Find him at www.callmemariah.com.
‘My body of work is largely informed by my sensory experiences, so this workshop comes from a place of lived experience and encouraging patrons to explore their own neuroplasticity. As someone diagnosed last year with ASD level 1 and self-diagnosed with synaesthesia, my sensory input is unique and my senses overlap and flow into each other, at times overwhelming me.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve experienced unusual sensory pairings. People’s voices can sometimes have a texture or taste. When listening to music or spoken word poetry, I often see an animated visual playing out in my head, especially vivid if I close my eyes.. Certain smells smack me in the face with such strong memory associations. Although synaesthesia is involuntary, I want to gift participants a peek into what their brains can do.’