Talk and Poetry Workshop
Beauty & Structure in Poetry
'Poetry: the best words in the best order.'
-Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Sociality & Orderliness in Conversation
'Conversation is the way in which people socialise and develop and sustain their relationships with each other.'
Event Overview
As part of the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences 2024, this ESRC-funded workshopLink opens in a new window will explore, in essence, how people manage their social connections through conversation. It will delve into how everyday conversations can hold deep personal meaning, shaping our social lives and the very essence of who we are. These seemingly ordinary conversations can be unfolded through poetry and drama-based activities, and the workshop will draw on the hosts' expertise to explore social interactions and poetic expression with the 'everyday conversationalists' who walk among us!
Event Details
Date & Time: 6-9pm, 29 October
Location: 1 Mill Street, Leamington Spa, CV31 1ES
Perks: drama-based activities (e.g., improvisation, role play), poetry writing, reflection session
Event Registration
Project Team
Project Lead: Yanyan LiLink opens in a new window (PhD Applied Linguistics, University of Warwick)
Workshop Designer: Zhitong Chen (MA Drama Education and ELT, University of Warwick) / Yanyan Li
Workshop Co-facilitator: Miyuki Izuo (MA TESOL, University of Warwick), Fan Zhang (MA TESOL, University of Warwick), Quynh Nga Nguyen (MA TESOL, University of Warwick)
Poem Writer: Yanyan Li, Zhitong Chen, Stella Shi (BA Applied Linguistics, University of Warwick), Jerry Zheng (MA Drama and Theatre Education, University of Warwick)
Poem Editor: Yichun Jiang (PhD Creative Writing, University of Manchester)
Visual Designer and Photographer: Yanyan Li, Stella Shi
Project Aim
This project aims to guide people in reflecting on their everyday conversations through three questions: What are people doing while talking? What happens first and next during conversation? What are the social consequences of these conversations?
Five objectives are identified:
- Increase awareness of the social connections essential for human life in society and the sense of belonging they create
- Experiment with poetry to illustrate interactional and social rules
- How people create, maintain, break, and restore social connections
- How actions and timing in conversations shape how people socialise and manage social relationships
- Show the tool (underpinned by conversation analysis) people can use to reflect on their social encounters and help people gradually develop better social skills and relationships through effective self-reflection
-
Investigate arts-based and accessible research communication methods
-
Explore the interplay between talk and text
Poem Collection
This collection 'Talk and Echo' is a tapestry woven from the raw threads of everyday conversations – the kind people all have but rarely pause to reflect upon. While none of these poems adhere to a traditional form, they are all imbued with the principles of conversation analysis – an analytic method that unpacks how people communicate in social interactions by focusing on the structure and meanings of dialogue. This framework illuminates the intricate dance of human interaction: how people listen, interpret, and respond not just to words, but to the often unnoticed rhythms of relationships. These principles guide the poems, allowing people to grasp the subtle moments where meaning unfolds – moments that are seen but may go unperceived.
