Intensivdagarna Words that sing and dance michael h glen
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Transcript of Intensivdagarna Words that sing and dance michael h glen
Words that sing and dance
We are craftspeople, meeting the needs of our clients
… a picture is often worth a thousand words
but … words can often conjure up a thousand pictures
long words short words boring words lively words ugly words pretty words rude words good words my words your words many words
few words
But they must be the right ones
And that’s the challenge
The choice of words is crucial
Words make patterns in front of you
You can hear them talking to you
They go round and round in your head
They make patterns on your mind and memory
You need to create a little piece of drama…
accuracy
challenge
clarity
connectivity
contemplation
creativity
economy
emotion
empathy
…to provoke a reaction essence
focus
gravity
humour
imagination
inspiration
integrity
language(s)
metaphor
revelation
rhyme
rhythm
sense-of-place
sensitivity
serendipity
simplicity
storytelling
whimsy
mystery
narrative
personality
poetry
probity
prose
reflection
repetition
resonance
What is QuiteWrite?
Poetry and prose for people at places
Speak with a local accent Use the economy of words in poetry Maintain the same discipline in text
An exhibition panel using 100 words
A wayside sign using 40 words
?
A museum panel using 25 words
A ‘for sale’ panel using just one word
Nature reserve – words by Sorley MacLean
Park bench – words by Tom Clark
Watching • timewatching • waterwatching • timewatching • rockwatching • timewatching • icewatching • timewatching • firewatching • timewatching • lifewatching •
lifetime • watching • time
Handrail on a Highland bridge
Michael Hamish Glen
River • river walk • river talk • river rush • river hush • river sing • river ring •
river spate • river fate • river prance • river dance •
river call • river fall • river fun • river run •
river splash • river dash • river slow • river flow •
river • forever
Handrail on a Highland bridge
Michael Hamish Glen
Five panels at waterfalls
Michael Hamish Glen
Toiling rivers turn mighty engines Nerth afonydd yn troi peiriannau mawr
Captured currents grind daily bread Ffrydiau caeth yn malu bara beunyddiol
Sudden torrents drown tumbling steps Llifiannau sydyn yn boddi grisiau serth
Searching waters carve dark secrets Dyfroedd chwilgar yn cerfio tywyllwch cêl
Seeping streams reach thirsty roots Nentydd yn treiddio i wreiddiau sychion
Five panels at waterfalls
Michael Hamish Glen
Six handrails on a new bridge
Michael Hamish Glen
Languid Leven loch, lowered for working water Snaking Leven river, replaced by working water
Sluice-curbed Leven cut, carved out for working water Sturdy Leven bridge, braced over working water
Thirsty Leven mills, maintained by working water Fertile Leven lands, left free from working water
The tumbles of lapwings and the gobbling of geese echo the spirals of skylarks and the squabbling of ducks
Chimney stacks, linen flax, corn mills, whisky stills snuff mills, paper mills, bleach fields, profit yields
Ducks dabble, geese gather, swans swoop, ducks dive, geese gobble, swans swank
Twenty-five benches on a loch-side walk
Michael Hamish Glen
The fisherman’s friend is the flirty fly, fickle food for fleeting fish
Sneaking snails, battling beetles, dashing dragons, dancing damsels
Ablow yon auld an scrievit stanes lirk Kinross toun’s respeckit banes
Three stone seats on a loch-side walk
Michael Hamish Glen
The tumbling of waters is the teeming of life
The felling of the timber is the making of the home
The face of the city is the heart of the mountain
The calling of the cuckoo is the other side of Spring
The harvest of the spruce is the start of letters home
Twelve ‘events’ in a forest
Michael Hamish Glen
Twenty ‘Signal posts’ on a forest walk
Michael Hamish Glen
Timber cut by stone and untold energy,
to smelt a life of new horizons from a fire-mouthed cave, and
axed by wintering traders, once Norse invaders, hauled high
on a repairing shore.
Yr Avon Ystwyth
Cwm yr afon ystwyth sy’n syrthio tros graig, heibio goedwig, trwy pentref a diwydiant coll, ar draws rhyd, tan pont, i lawr ceunant o’r hafod ger
y bwa
Or, in abbreviated form:
Cwmafonystwythsy’nsyrthiotrosgraigheibio- goedwig-pentrefdiwydiantcollrhydpont-
ceunanto’rhafodgerybwa
Strapline for a Welsh valley
Michael Hamish Glen
The Ystwyth Valley
The valley of the agile river that tumbles over rock, past woodland, village and lost industry,
across the ford, under the bridge and down the ravine from the upland farm near the arch
Or, in abbreviated form:
Thevalleyoftheagileriverthattumblesoverrock-pastwoodlandvillagelostindustryfordbridge-
ravinefromtheuplandfarmnearthearch
Strapline for a Welsh valley
Michael Hamish Glen
John Graham, Irish prisoner
There are many tales out of New South Wales but there’s none so strange as now, When you hear of John who was on the run; just wait till I tell you how. He stole some hemp, so was not exemp’ from a ship to Bot’ny Bay, Just as any lad, he was not all bad but the law got in his way.
Prisoner’s poem for an Irish gaol
Michael Hamish Glen
I’m Vera Vole, I live in a hole, Deep in the bank – I like it quite dank. Rushes are good, we eat them for food Then hide in the grass to let danger pass.
I’m Theo Dolite, I must get it right. Choosing a route that’s going to suit Owners of land and that merry band Of boatmen at large, each one with a barge.
Forty verses for a canal interpretive map
Michael Hamish Glen
Ròn : Seal
Glistening seals haul their awkward
sleekness from the easy seas and then dream,
flippers high, of fish suppers
Ten panels overlooking a sea loch
Michael Hamish Glen
A few guidelines
Ten questions to consider 1 Why am I writing this text?
2 Is there an interpretive plan?
3 Where does this text fit into the plan?
4 Who is the primary audience?
5 Do I have to think of other audiences?
6 Where will the text be located?
7 Will the text relate to objects, places, ideas, events?
8 Who will approve the text?
9 Will the text be tested before use?
10 Will it be in more than one language?
Ten more questions 1 Will there be photographs, illustrations or maps?
2 How long or short should the text be?
3 What is the principal story?
4 Are there subsidiary stories to tell?
5 Is the basic information available?
6 Must the text be in conventional prose?
7 May I choose the style of language?
8 May I use poetry or contemplative text?
9 May I use humour?
10 May I ask questions or just give answers?
Ten rules 1 Create eye-catching – but accurate – headings
2 Use a hierarchy of text content (and size)
3 Start with a summary of key content
4 Use simple words and correct grammar
5 Use first / second person and write as you speak
6 Use concise sentences but vary them in length
7 Use active verbs unless the sense dictates otherwise
8 Insert cross-headings to break up the text
9 Remember who will read your text, and their age
10 Don’t describe what is illustrated
Another ten rules 1 Avoid lots of dates and unnecessary details
2 Avoid capitals, semi-colons; and exclamation marks!
3 Avoid Latin and other abbreviations
4 Explain technical terms where necessary
5 Provide contexts, comparisons and relationships
6 Consider using quotations and questions
7 Consider using local and / or dialect words
8 Consider using bullet points ()
9 Consider using the Ekarv Method
10 Remember designers can help with good layout
The Ekarv Method 1 Use simple language to express complex ideas
2 Write in short sentences
3 Use the word order of normal speech
4 Include one main idea only on each line
5 End lines at the natural end of phrases
6 Restrict lines to about 45 letters
7 Always align text to the left
8 Break text into paragraphs of four or five lines
9 Read your text aloud and note the natural pauses
10 Adjust wording and punctuation to reflect speech
Journalists’ rules
Sourcing Accuracy Balance Speed
Significance
25 words Granny-friendly
Sourcing Accuracy Balance Clarity
Significance
50 words Visitor-friendly
Interpreters’ rules
Make it short and simple Make people want to read it
Make it fun to read Make the words sing and dance
Make it memorable
Michael’s rules
My mentor: Ian Hamilton Finlay Author of the one-word poem
CURFEW
Curlew
Maurilio’s challenge
Why are shadows always black?
Write a response – in 25 words –that will satisfy children.
Darwin’s challenge
Why are flamingos always pink?
Write a response – in 50 words –that will amuse families.
Rodin’s challenge
What is he thinking about?
Write a response – in 15 words –that will make people think.
Miaow!
Prrr!
That’s all folks!
Happy writing!