Samuel Tongue

And one of the main focuses that we're going to talk about is facilitating words for well-being and how poetry can help with generating a sense of well-being and relaxation, but also exploring some difficult topics as well.

So we're going to be interviewing Valerie in the main, Valerie Gillis, and by way of an introduction and also by way of getting insight into some of the techniques that people use in wellbeing workshops, we're going to ask her to describe herself in six words for the benefit of the listener.

dowser granny that's the range there's a lot of range in that there's a lot there's a whole biography in there um you were saying before we started recording it that it's quite a hard task it's on paper it looks like quite a simple task to describe yourself in six words but actually you were saying it's quite difficult i think i felt it was hard if you're basically a humble person

Yeah, that idea of trying to sum yourself up in six words.

But when you're facilitating a Words for Wellbeing workshop, why do you think that's a good technique?

Why is that a kind of go-to technique for getting people into the room?

So it seems to serve the purpose of being an icebreaker, but also actually getting those creative juices flowing quite quickly as well to...

So you've set the bar, and then you've got to live up to how you've described yourself.

So when you are doing these kinds of sessions, and Larry, at any point you want to step in and draw out some of the ideas as well, because you've been working for Lapidus Scotland for a long, long time, and I know both of you have been working together on...

on words for well-being and integrating that with the Scottish Poetry Library in the past as well.

What is it about poetry and creative work that tees itself up to be such a useful way of writing for well-being?

And when you say, yeah, it's a wonderful quote from Seamus Heaney as well, but strong enough to help, in what kind of ways, what emotions and levels of response does it bring up?

Trying to find a poem that speaks to the situation that people are dealing with.

So they were taken along with the story, with the narrative and the ballad and then got lost in the music and the rhythm and then that recognition, that moment of recognition.

Especially as a kind of group as well, as a group recognising that rather than kind of individually, but then that different dynamic when it's in a group.

Yes.

That's really interesting.

So you had the poem, you had the kind of group hearing this poem together and then wanting to actually work their response into another form.

Yes.

That's really interesting.