Tag Archives: epic

Everyday should be National Poetry Day!

Last week the UK celebrated National Poetry Day.  Always one to join the band waggon late I thought I would have a lazy blogging week and share some of my older poems.

When I think about it poetry is a big part of my work.  From reciting poems in my storytelling to using epic poetry in drama and storytelling workshops.  For me the charm of verse is it’s form and immediacy.  I can write a 30 minute story or a four stanza poem.  The results can be very satisfying.  When I worked with Guilden Morden Primary School to tell the story of The Great Fire of Guilden Morden the sophistication of the children’s poetry blew me away.

Anyway here is the selection of poems I have chosen – other video can be viewed on my Youtube Channel.

My most popular (I recently passed 500 views) – this poem is a rethinking on Alfred Noyes’ “The Highwayman” from the viewpoint of one of the other characters.  I wrote it for a workshop exploring the poem.

 

My most furry – again here I am rethinking Julia Donaldson’s “The Gruffalo”.  In my version the Gruffalo makes the argument that he is the victim of the mouse’s lies!

 

My most anarchic – This is one of Lewis Carroll’s nonsense poem recited by the Mad Hatter.

 

 

My most classical – very few people who watch my version of Homer’s Odyssey would realise that I have remained true to the form of the original epic poem.  Whilst I have tinkered with a lot of the text to make its shorter (necessary when the original is 24 books long!) I have retained most of the introduction.

 

and just for fun… I have a background in parody and pastiche.  Here is my version of “Frankenstein” set to Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive”!!  I have also reworked Dracula and Jekyll and Hyde to the tunes of pop songs and some of the Canterbury Tales (I hope to record a few over the coming weeks).

 

Gods and Monsters: Approaching Homer’s Odyssey

John Kirk specialises in drama workshops and theatre for young people.A year ago I devised Dracula to coincide with The Summer Reading Challenge (SRC) 2013.  The piece was hugely successful and it has been my pleasure to present it across the rest of the country at schools and events since.  Time waits for no man and a year later I am about to embark upon an even bigger tour with an even bigger challenge: Homer’s Odyssey.

I had originally thought to give SRC 2014 a miss – Private Peaceful was a very demanding and very consuming project and I thought that perhaps I needed some time to reflect.  In February I was booked by Hammersmith and Fulham Libraries for four days of storytelling.  I knew that the obvious choice considering the theme this year is Mythical Mazes, would be Theseus and the Minotaur but I tell this already as part of my traditional storytelling offer to schools.  I briefly considered “The Secret Garden” as an alternative slant on the theme before settling on Homer.

There are many good reasons for children to hear The Odyssey.  It may be 3000 years old but its a really famous and influential story packed with Gods and Monsters.  Be it the Coen Brothers’ Oh Brother!  Where Art Thou? or the test of the Glass Slipper to find true love in Cinderella, shades of The Odyssey are everywhere.  The original is very skilfully written and as the plotlines merge it is clearly much more than an adventure story.  There is a strong message through the narrative about the foolishness of men and the wisdom and fortitude of women.  I have used this blog to talk about the role of strong women in fairy tales before and whilst Odysseus truly is a man of exploits and trials (many of which are brought about by ill judged decisions) loyal Penelope is admirably steadfast and dignified as she waits for his return.

John Kirk is a storyteller and drama facilitator specialising in drama workshops and theatre for young people.In recent months I have been doing more and more work around narrative poems.  I have explored Alfred Noyes’ Highwayman, Tennyson and even used narrative poetry as a device for telling the story of The Great Fire of Guilden Morden.  I have been keen to retain the sense of a narrative poem, its language and imagery, in my reinterpretation.  I say reinterpretation because mine will be an adaptation of Homer.  There is no way I could remember twelve and a half thousand lines of poetry but I hope that I offer a flavour of the journey as we follow Odysseus home in just 40 minutes.  My story must also have a sense of progression and therefore cannot afford to linger.  My other big challenge is making the piece accessible to very young audiences.  I want the experience to be fun but its important that the tone is right and any jokes mustn’t cloud the narrative.

John Kirk is a storyteller and drama facilitator specialising in drama workshops and theatre for young people.The result is a series of short stories which in the future I will be able to tell independently or present as a show following Odysseus from Troy back to Penelope.  I’ll be doing my usual array of voices, physical attitudes and helping the audience to identify Gods from the Monsters with suggestions of costume and some more visual setpieces.  (I have already redecorated my Kitchen with tomato juice in a failed attempt to produce a suitably gory effect for the blinding of Polyphemus).

If the preparation is an indicator of the summer to come then it’s going to be epic!

Dates from 9th July 2014 in London Libraries.  Follow link and check local listings for details of presentations.