Short Course - Your Language Is A Miracle
Introduction
Welcome to Short Course - Your Language Is A Miracle
In this course, we will explore the art of forming bilingual verses in poetry and prose, utilising the power of sound and tone to season your creative palette, celebrating the richness of being bilingual or hailing from a bilingual background.
Throughout this course you will be guided to experiment with words, sounds, imagery, and tones that will enable you to build layers in your writing, each layer reflecting the intricacies of your personal identity. By delving into the multifaceted nature of language, encompassing its written and spoken forms, the physicality expressed through actions, and even the unspoken nuances, you will gain a profound understanding of a powerful strategy to enrich your writing practice.
Before you begin, download your Working Document
Watch a short video of poet and educator Sana A. Rashid giving an introduction to her practice.
Module 1: Theory
1.1 Embracing and Showcasing Your Identity
Watch a video of Sana A.Rashid reiterating the importance of being the representation you seek in the creative industry.
Celebrating Who You Are
Your identity, including your cultural background, personal history, and individual experiences, is not a constraint but a source of creativity.
Amplifying Authentic Narratives
Your creative work has the potential to challenge stereotypes and preconceived notions. Use it as a tool to break free from limiting narratives and amplify authentic stories.
Self-Reflection
Embark on a journey of self-reflection to uncover the elements of your identity you wish to highlight in your work. What aspects of your experiences make you who you are? What stories do you want to tell?
Empathy and Connection
Authentic portrayals of identity in creative work can foster empathy and connection. By sharing your truths, you create bridges between people of different backgrounds, fostering understanding and unity.
Writing Your Truth
Write fearlessly, drawing inspiration from your unique perspectives and experiences. Your truth is a powerful narrative that deserves to be heard.
The Power of Inclusivity
Recognise the importance of inclusivity in literature and art. Your creative work can actively contribute to creating a more inclusive creative landscape by showcasing a diverse range of voices and experiences.
Intersectionality
Embrace the intersectionality of identities. Your experiences and identity are multifaceted, and this richness can breathe life into your storytelling, showcasing the complexity of the human experience.
Module 1: Theory (cont.)
1.2 How is Your Language a Miracle?
Watch a video of Sana A.Rashid unpacking the power of language, sound and tone.
Written Language
Written words form ideas into tangible verses that paints intricate narratives, preserves history, and allows us to explore the depth of human emotion and imagination. Bilingual writers navigate the fusion of written languages, each script and character a unique brushstroke. Written language holds the power to transcend time and space, bridging cultures and generations. Consider the languages you employ in your written works. How do they shape your writing style and the stories you craft?
Spoken Language
Sound is a universal language that transcends linguistic boundaries. It carries with it a wealth of emotions. Spoken language is the living heartbeat of human communication, where words come to life through vocalisation, intonation, and rhythm. In the realm of poetry and prose, it is the spoken word that carries the essence of culture, identity, and emotion. Bilingual writers often navigate the intricate dance between languages in spoken form, where accents, dialects, and nuances become audible expressions of their heritage. The power of spoken language lies in its ability to convey not only the meanings of words but also the subtleties of sentiment and the melodies of cultural identity. Reflect upon the sounds of the words or dialects you use in your writing. How does the influence the overall narrative?
Physical
The physical dimension in poetry and prose encompasses the sensory experiences and tangible elements that anchor words to the corporeal world. It is the realm of touch, taste, sight, smell, and sound - where the physicality of existence finds its voice. Contemplate how you use this physical language to craft vibrant imagery in your prose and poetry. How do these descriptions enhance the sensory experience and emotional connection for your readers?
Unsaid
The unsaid in poetry and prose is the profound space between words, the silence that resonates with untold stories, and the unspoken emotions that linger in the background. This subtext carries tremendous weight in creative writing. It encompasses hidden emotions, unsaid truths, and
Self-Reflection on Your Writing Journey
Take a moment to delve into introspection regarding your path as a writer. Has your connection to language and creative identity always been unwavering, or has it undergone transformation alongside your writing journey? If you could offer guidance to your younger writer self concerning the role of language in creative writing, what wisdom would you share?
Your Turn
Take some time to answer these questions while considering the above.
Q1. What language/s do you understand?
See Working Document for details.
Q2. Which language do you speak?
See Working Document for details.
Q3. How do you feel when speaking this language?
See Working Document for details.
Q4. Who do you want to be?
See Working Document for details.
Q5. Have you always felt like that?
See Working Document for details.
Q6. What would you say to your younger self?
See Working Document for details.
Take notes as needed in Exercise 1.2 in your Working Document.
Module 1: Theory (cont.)
1.3 Building Layers Using Language, Sound and Tone
Watch a video of Sana A.Rashid sharing examples of building layers using language, sound and tone.
Language and Imagery
Language sets the stage for poetry, allowing us to communicate intricate emotions and thoughts that create mental pictures and sensory experiences within the reader's mind. Language connected phrases can be idioms, metaphors, or culturally significant expressions that carry a wealth of meaning. By incorporating these language-connected phrases into a poem, bilingual poets infuse their work with layers of cultural richness and personal significance.
Pauses
Pauses, or strategic breaks in the flow of language, serve as breaths within the poem. They offer readers a moment to contemplate, reflect, and absorb the words that came before. Pauses can be as simple as a line break, a comma, or a semicolon. They can also manifest in the form of a stanza break, creating a profound shift in the poem's rhythm and meaning. Pauses invite readers to linger in the spaces between words, allowing the layers of the poem to settle and resonate deeply.
Repetition
Repetition is a poetic technique that involves the deliberate reuse of words, phrases, or sounds within a poem. It serves as an echo, reinforcing key ideas and emotions. Repetition can be both a powerful layering tool and a source of musicality. Repetition can highlight the beauty of linguistic diversity and, when used thoughtfully, can offer a bridge for readers to traverse between languages, discovering new layers of meaning with each recurrence.
Tone and Emotional Resonance
Tone is a subtle but powerful layer that shapes a poem's emotional resonance. Tone is conveyed through our choices in word selection, sentence structure, and pacing, guiding the reader's perception of emotions and themes.
Layering Emotions
By blending contrasting emotions, poets create complexity and depth, inviting readers to contemplate a range of feelings simultaneously.
Lingo
Stanza: A group of lines within a poem, often separated by a blank line, serving as a structural unit, similar to a paragraph in prose.
Idiom: A phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning unique to a language or culture, making it not directly translatable.
Imagery: Vivid and descriptive language that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell), creating a sensory experience for the reader.
Word Bank: A curated collection of words and phrases.
Module 2: Practical
2.1 Reacting to Sounds and Images
Watch a video of Sana A.Rashid prompting the creation of a ‘word bank’ through the consumption of audio visual materials.
Emotional Resonance
Reacting to sounds and images can evoke deep emotions. Sounds can stir nostalgia, joy, or melancholy, while images can elicit feelings of wonder, sadness, or inspiration. These emotional responses provide a wellspring of material for your writing, allowing you to infuse your work with authentic and relatable sentiments.
Vivid Descriptions
Both sounds and images offer a wealth of sensory details that can enrich your writing. By reacting to these stimuli, you can develop vivid and immersive descriptions in your poetry and prose. Sounds can be described in terms of their timbre, rhythm, and volume, while images can be dissected into colours, shapes, and textures, all contributing to a sensory-rich narrative.
Setting and Atmosphere
Sounds and images are potent tools for setting the atmosphere and tone of your writing. They can transport readers to specific places, times, or moods. The choice of sounds or visuals can instantly convey whether a scene is tranquil, ominous, joyful, or chaotic, creating a powerful backdrop for your storytelling.
Cultural and Personal Significance
The sounds and images that resonate with you personally often have cultural or individual significance. They may be tied to your heritage, memories, or life experiences. Incorporating these culturally rich elements into your writing can deepen the layers of your work and add authenticity to your voice.
Interplay of Sensory Details
Engaging with both sounds and images allows you to explore the interplay of sensory details. How does a particular sound complement or contrast with a visual scene? This exploration can lead to intricate and multi-dimensional descriptions, creating a more immersive reading experience.
Your Turn
Q7. Create a Word Bank
Select an audio material of choice and fully immerse yourself in it, create a list of words and phrases that capture the essence of this auditory experience.
See Working Document for details.
Choose a visual material that intrigues you, create a list of the emotions, narratives, or symbolism that the visual material conveys.
See Working Document for details.
Review your lists of words and phrases from both the audio and visual exercises.
See Working Document for details.
Expand your word bank by adding more sensory words, metaphors, and similes.
See Working Document for details.
Take notes as needed in Exercise 2.1 in your Working Document.
Module 2: Practical (cont.)
2.2 Free Writing Exercise
Writing has a remarkable ability to function as a time capsule, preserving the memories and emotions that shape our lives. It allows us to revisit moments, rekindling the emotions they once held.
Free writing is a liberating and unstructured writing technique that encourages you to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) without inhibition. It's a method that opens the floodgates of creativity, allowing your thoughts and emotions to flow freely, unburdened by self-criticism or the pressure to produce a polished piece of work. In this section, we'll explore the methodology of free writing and how it can serve as a powerful tool for unlocking your creativity, especially when it comes to capturing moments of happiness, belonging, excitement, and gratitude.
Your Turn
Q8. Interactive Free Writing Exercise
Prepare Your Tools
Get Comfortable
Watch the Video
Uninhibited Writing
Revisit Your Chosen Moment
Express Authentically
Reflect
See Working Document for details.
Take notes as needed in Exercise 2.2 in your Working Document.
Tip: Throughout the exercise, avoid self-critique or editing, just write what comes to mind. The goal is to let your creativity flow without hindrance.
Watch a video of Sana A. Rashid introducing writing as remembrance and guiding you through an interactive free writing exercise.
Module 2: Practical
2.3 Promped Writing
Prompted writing is a valuable tool for unlocking and conveying profound emotions. By responding to thoughtfully designed prompts, writers are encouraged to delve into the intricate realm of their feelings, often uncovering sentiments and memories that may have been hidden. This practice not only offers an avenue for catharsis and self-exploration but also provides the means to craft these emotions into eloquent prose or poetry.
Your
Q9. Exploring Emotions Through Writing: A Guided Exercise
Select Your Emotion
Prepare Your Writing Tools
Create a Distraction-Free Environment
Refer to Phrases If Unsure
Embrace Vulnerability
Capture the Details
See Working Document for details.
Take notes as needed in Exercise 2.3 in your Working Document.
Congratulations!
You have now successfully learned:
How to add layers in writing for depth
Giving ourselves permission to write from experience
Being intentional with our words, phrases and language choices
Use of sounds and images to act as an effective writing stimulus
Creation of prose considering all of the above