How death in the past can help us write about death in the present
The University of Bradford is holding a series of workshops using archaeology to write about death.
People with an interest in poetry and creative writing are invited to attend these free workshops in Bradford, Manchester and Sheffield.
The Bradford workshops take place in Bradford on 13 March, 3 April and 5 June and participants are asked to attend all three.
The Creative Dissemination project follows the Continuing Bonds study and is a result of follow-on funding for Impact and Engagement awarded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The project continues with the original drive to normalise death, dying, bereavement and grief in contemporary society. To do this, stories, experiences and opinions given in the original workshops together with archaeological materials are being used as inspiration for creative writing and poetry.
Dr Karina Croucher, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology said: “These workshops are great for anyone with an interest in poetry or creative writing who wants to explore a new way of thinking and talking about death. We will look at themes like remembering/forgetting the dead, contentious resting sites, keeping the dead, memorialising through objects and treatment of the body after death.”
The project runs for 9 months and is led by Principal Investigator Dr Karina Croucher (University of Bradford) and Co-Investigators Dr Jennie Dayes? (University of Bradford) and Dr Melanie Giles? (University of Manchester). The anthology and workshop materials will be hosted online to encourage others to hold similar writing events, write about death, dying and grief issues, and to engage an even wider audience on the topic.