Don't be scared – explore the wonder of words at new poetry course in Barnard Castle

DON’T be put off by poetry.
That's the message from Judi Sutherland who is leading a new course at The Witham, in Barnard Castle.
Poetry for the Petrified aims to lay the foundations for a spoken word community to grow in the dale.
“I Think a lot of people get put off poetry by what they learn at school,” said Ms Sutherland.
“A lot of it would be Victorian poetry, which does not say anything to them – nothing contemporary.”
Ms Sutherland, who moved to Barnard Castle three years ago, ran a similar course while living in Newbury and is hoping to repeat its success in Teesdale.
“We read poetry, unpicked it, saw how it worked and started writing. Everyone in the club became a writer and it was very pleasing to see them do something creative.”
She added: “Lots of people write poems when they are about 17 and give it up. I went back to it in my 40s.
“Gradually, you get more interested and start to want to comment on other things that are going on in the world or that have happened to you.
“There isn’t a spoken work community round here yet, but I think poetry is the most fundamental way of one mind talking to another mind.”
Ms Sutherland, a Barnard Castle town councillor, cites Devon-based Alice Oswald as one of her favourite poets among current writers.
“She is very much a nature poet and one of the things we will be working up to will be writing about Barnard castle and the Teesdale landscape once we have got a few basics.”
She said she had always wanted to be a writer and as well as leading the poetry course, Ms Sutherland is currently working on a novel.
“With poetry, you can write it in a short amount of time. I have written on everything from the murder of Jo Cox and making a Christmas cake to moving house and fitting in to new landscapes.”
Poetry for the Petrified takes place on Tuesday afternoons at The Witham, from 1.30pm to 3.30pm.
For more details, contact The Witham office on 01833 631107.