Synaesthetic Poetry Workshop with Sean West

Sensory details are integral to crafting great poetry. In this hybrid workshop, participants will be encouraged to explore the concept of ‘synaesthetic poetry’. 

Synaesthesia is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway, creating an overlap of two or more senses (I.e. a sound stimulates a visual experience such as seeing a piece of music as a painting or animation).

In this workshop, you will simulate synaesthesia and play with sensory pairings to push your creative practice to new and unusual places. You will be encouraged to taste visual images, visualise your favourite music as images, personify your favourite colours, characterise your favourite tastes, and articulate your loved one’s voices as textures against your skin. These unconventional prompts will encourage poets to embrace their neuroplasticity, regardless of writing experience.

Outcome:

• Finding a new approach to writing poetry through synaesthetic brain exploration.
• Unblocking writer's blocks and struggles.

This workshop is suitable for:

• Anyone! Emerging, established or new poets should all find this workshop accessible and engaging, as the structure isn't built on established poetry conventions and will take a "teach from the heart" approach

This is a hybrid workshop – you can attend in person at Society City Wollongong, or online on Zoom.

Venue Info:

If attending in person, please be aware that Society City is only accessible via two flights of stairs. The door can be found on the ground level of Crown Street. There is free street parking after 4.30pm nearby on Auburn Street or after 5.30pm at Wollongong shopping centre. There is a free-bus stop nearby, and Wollongong Train Station is a short walk away.

About your facilitator: 

Sean West (he/they) is an Autistic gender bendy poet, support worker, and workshop facilitator based in Meanjin. Their sold-out debut chapbook is Gutless Wonder (Queensland Poetry, 2023). In 2023, they were runner-up in the Arts Queensland Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize. Sean is the founding editor of Blue Bottle Journal. They found their feet as a poet through zines and the Ruckus Slam community, where they are endearingly nicknamed 'Mariah.'  Without slam, they would not be a fraction of who they are today. Find more at www.callmemariah.com.  

‘My body of work is largely informed by my sensory experiences, so this workshop comes from a place of lived experience and encouraging patrons to explore their own neuroplasticity. As someone diagnosed with ASD level 1 and self-diagnosed with synaesthesia, my sensory input is unique and my senses overlap and flow into each other, at times overwhelming me.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve experienced unusual sensory pairings. People’s voices can sometimes have a texture or taste. When listening to music or spoken word poetry, I often see an animated visual playing out in my head, especially vivid if I close my eyes. Certain smells smack me in the face with such strong memory associations. Although synaesthesia is involuntary, I want to gift participants a peek into what their brains can do.’

This workshop is presented by Enough Said Poetry Slam and Enough Said Books.