Abstract
There is an increasing interest in the application of creative writing in later life. While much of the literature has acknowledged that creative writing has positive effects, less interest has been given to the literary aspects of the writing, including the characteristics of the various texts being produced. Calling upon the author’s experience as a teacher and researcher in creative writing groups among older persons in different settings, this chapter will explore both the texts produced in creative writing groups and what these texts do. While the former will involve a reading of emblematic texts, the latter will consider how different texts perform work in the process of production, sharing, and reception—in the writer and among the audience. By applying theories of narrative identity and poetic language as well as previous research, the chapter argues that access to an expressive language can open up perspectives of playfulness and wonder toward one’s life and oneself—as well as having therapeutic effects. Furthermore, sharing one’s poems and stories in a supportive environment can provide validation and affirmation. The impact of creative writing in later life must be seen in the inseparable entwinement of aesthetic and existential meaning-making.
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Notes
- 1.
Haley, cited in Polster, Erving. Every Person’s Life is Worth a Novel. W. W. Norton, 1987, page 96.
- 2.
Orr, Gregory. “The Making of Poems.” This I Believe, NPR, 20 Feb. 2006. NPR, www.npr.org/2006/02/20/5221496/the-making-of-poems.
- 3.
There is an emerging application of various forms of poetry practices in dementia care . Due to the limits of the chapter, these practices fall outside of its scope. Poetry has been seen as a language that, beyond remembrance, can be connected to the here and now through play (Basting) or recital and performativity (Glazner; Swinnen, “Healing”). Other practices have underscored that poetry is closer to the language of people living with dementia (Killick) or that poetry can involve an interpretational frame toward the everyday language of people with dementia that can open up for an increased agency outside of the hegemony of narrative (Synnes et al., “Complex” and “Time”).
- 4.
During the period spanning from 1999 to 2005, Prosjekt Eldrepedagogikk (Project Pedagogics of Aging) arranged 14 courses for older adults, 6 for people living at home (meeting in municipal spaces), 4 in nursing homes, and 1 for people living with dementia at a psychiatric outpatient clinic. The courses were led by Ragna Aadlandsvik, Odd Sætre, Mona Steinar Brekkan, and me; usually, two teachers were present. I coordinated the project and both facilitated and taught at all of the courses.
- 5.
In total, 51 people ranging in age from 43 to 95 years took part in the courses, resulting in the production of more than 450 texts consisting of poems and smaller stories. The courses took place between 2006 and 2007.
- 6.
All translations are my own. Original text:Verse
Verse Tre år På mage på kjøkkenbenken Det hadde regnet Så en stor blank søledam som speilet himmel og noen trær En vanndråpe rant langs en ledning falt ned midt i dammen, så bildet brast i mange ringer Så ble det blankt igjen Lå lenge og så
- 7.
All translations are my own. Original text:Verse
Verse “Den dagen” Onsdag fjerde oktober nitten førtifire Far gikk på jobb klokken syv. Jeg dro hjemmefra klokken åtte Mor og søster Turid var alene Flyene kom fem minutter over ni Femten minutter senere var alt stille Ethundreogfemti bombefly. Allierte helter hadde spredt ettusenfirehundreogtrettito djevelske såkorn over Laksevåg Frukten ble død og kaos De kom i samme grav Snekkeren hadde laget kisten bred, for mor var gravid og Turid ble syv år og fem måneder Vanskelig er det å leve død
- 8.
Laksevåg is a part of the city of Bergen in Western Norway. The Allied bombing of the German U-boat bunker at Laksevåg was a major tragedy of the Second World War in Norway, where 193 civilians, among them 74 children, were killed.
- 9.
This final line has a dual quality in Norwegian and can be read both as “Hard is it to live dead” and as “Hard is it to live death.”
- 10.
All translations are my own. Original text:Verse
Verse Far var elektriker hos … Midt på dagen hadde de to timer fri til middag Jeg kunne nesten ikke vente til han kom hjem Etter middag la han seg på sofaen med bena høyt Jeg satt nedenfor Så klappet han meg på håret Så på meg med et godt smil Jeg var nok en pappajente
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Synnes, O. (2024). Finding the Right Wor(l)ds: Creative Writing as Aesthetic and Existential Practice in Later Life. In: Lipscomb, V.B., Swinnen, A. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Literature and Aging. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-50917-9_15
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