Treasured Place, Treasured Words

Since September 2018 Mel Perry has been working through the library in Gnosjö to promote creative writing by teaming up with a group of children and a local teacher. With inspiration from “The Lost Words” by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris, Mel has taught the children the poetic technique of the acrostic, where certain letters in each line spell out a word or phrase. Choosing items from a local forest in September, the children have created poems that have extended their vocabulary and expression and reflect the importance of their natural world to them.

This is an example written by one of the Hilma Jarlstram, “Röda löv”, which translates as “red leaves”.

The children have since developed their ideas and use of the technique to create a series of acrostic poems and their own paintings about boats and the sea, "The Coast Words". This project within Young Writers Lab culminated in readings by the children at SmåLit2019 in Värnamo in February.

Treasured Place, Treasured Words has helped the children learn new poetic techniques, research their ideas, extend their understanding of creative writing, value their classmates, enjoy their environment, and build confidence in their writing and performance.