Manchester poet gives voice to care village residents

UK performance poet, Tony Walsh has given the first public reading of his new poem, 'We are Belong villagers', at the Belong Wigan community care village.

The poem was specially commissioned by Belong Wigan to communicate what it's like to live in a modern care setting.

Tony Walsh has performed at The British Library and the RSC 50th Anniversary Open Day as well as numerous other venues. His uplifting poem, which was written after a successful poetry workshop with Belong residents last autumn, avoids the usual stereotypes and jargon associated with life in a care home, and instead gives a realistic portrayal of how the people living and working in Belong Wigan feel about themselves.

Speaking of the creative process, Tony said: "I was very impressed by an initial meeting with managers from Belong but, as someone with experience of care settings from both a family perspective and as a former council officer, it was important for me to also hear from residents and staff before writing my commissioned poem.

"I therefore offered to run a poetry session at Belong Wigan. About a dozen residents and a couple of members of staff attended and we had a lot of fun.

"As an unexpected bonus, the session also gave me the inspiration for my poem, which takes the form of a simple 'kenning' - a poetic form with Norse roots, linked to the Scottish use of the word 'ken' - to know. Through the poem, we hope that people will come to know the very different and first class way that Belong Villages do things."

Tracy Paine, operations director at Belong, said: “The care sector gets a lot of bad press, often based on outdated ideas. We commissioned Tony because we wanted to give a voice to the people who make Belong villages their home and continue to lead wonderful lives here, as well as to the many dedicated staff supporting them.

“Everybody that participated in his poetry workshop at Belong Wigan last year had a fantastic time, and they're proud to know that their conversations that day inspired 'We are Belong villagers'."

A recording of Tony Walsh reading 'We are Belong villagers' can be heard at www.belong.org.uk.

Belong is a charitable organisation and part of the CLS Group. It operates villages providing a range of care, housing and support options for older people, as well as extensive amenities in the village centre. It specialises in supporting people with dementia.

Residents can either live independently in a Belong apartment or within a supported 24-hour care environment.