On and off since spring of last year I’ve been running sessions in care homes and day centres for the Edinburgh International Book Festival’s Communities Programme. Sessions are themed, and I take in a selection of poems and songs on that theme, together with objects relating to them.

In recent weeks I’ve been visiting Corstorphine Dementia Project and Gilmerton Neurological Care Centre (both in Edinburgh). Themes so far include Scotland, Autumn and Hands, and in the coming weeks we’ll focus on Edinburgh itself as well as travelling Around the World.

The Book Festival came along to last week’s session at Corstorphine, and have since posted about it here. They also took the photos you can see here (in which I’m wearing my best autumnal shirt).

I’m pleased to say the sessions have been really well received – ““the feedback I’ve been getting from staff and our members has just been so positive. From what they tell me, it’s really multi-sensory, engaging and they love the way you deliver the poem and conversation prompts.”

I worked in theatre a long time ago, and it’s been good to explore a more performative approach to presenting poems.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned here the post I wrote for the Book Festival last year, about the sessions I ran at Eagle Lodge Care Home, which you can still read here.

My thanks to the Book Festival for enabling these sessions, to the organisers at the care homes and community centres, and to everyone who has listened, joined in, made suggestions and otherwise conversed.