The Project
The Words & Worlds project was commissioned by Newcastle City Council in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and led by artists Natasha Haws and Elijah Young from September 2020 to March 2021. The intention of this residency was to help people from different community groups share their lockdown experiences through creative writing. Over the course of six months and several versions of lockdown, all those involved have participated in weekly workshops, phone call sessions or via email and all of their written work has culminated in the creation of an anthology titled “Listen for The Birds” which has been made digitally accessible on this website. Over 40 people were involved in the project with the youngest participant being 13 and the oldest being 85. All of different ages, backgrounds and writing skills. They have shared their experiences of the pandemic but also given us, and you as a reader, an insight into their own life stories.
Some work in this anthology is deliberately unedited to celebrate the uniqueness of every individual voice. Some pieces are credited with pseudonyms or anonymously  to allow the participants to write freely and honestly. We believe each and everyone of them are now writers in their own right.

I Call Her Mam By Karla Graham

After the success of the first project and the creation of an anthology, we continued to work with vulnerable communities to provide a platform for their voices and access to the arts. This second phase of the project involved returning participants/partners and brand new ones. We worked from July to October 2021 with over 40 participants on a new focus which led to the creation of a second volume. This new anthology is  titled Look At Us Now which is now available to read on this website. This second volume explores the theme of “Identity”.

Christmas Day, 1951 By Pat Spence

Post Chemo Hair, 2017 By Jude Bazen

Say This Say That By Alexandra J Edgar

What Does He See In The Mirror By Tony Huzzard

A Hope For The Future By Christine Burridge

Belonging By Ann Gittins

Our Hearts By Mary O'Sullivan-Fawcett

Coal To Newcastle By Andrea Bell

Tomorrow By Maxine Patterson

Take A Look Around By Elvina Lee

Future Hopes By CL

Dreams By Lynn

Don't Call Me Brave By Barry Wilkinson

Diagnosis, The Golden Ticket By Tony Moore

Brave By AD

Born 1994, Ghana By AA

At Last, Someone Who Listens By Pat

18th June 1959 By Isabel Marafao

(Un)seen By Hattie Eason

My Hope For The Future By Pauline Hass

We're Alright By David Black

The Words and Worlds community arts project was originally commissioned by Newcastle City Council and led by artists Natasha Haws and Elijah Young from September 2020 to March 2021. The intention of the residency was to help people from vulnerable community groups share their lockdown experiences through creative writing. 
 Since then, we have extended this project to continue providing a platform for members of the Newcastle community who don’t often have a voice. We have connected with people through the Elders Council of Newcastle, Your Homes Newcastle, Youth Justice Service, Trinity Academy, Changing Lives Treatment and Recovery Team and the most recent addition, Building Futures East.

Since the beginning of this project, we have produced two anthologies "Listen for the Birds" and "Look At Us Now" that have been made accessible on our website www.wordsandworlds.co.uk. Some work in this anthology is deliberately unedited to celebrate the uniqueness of every individual voice. Some pieces are credited with pseudonyms or anonymously  to allow the participants to write freely and honestly. Some are even scribed by us to allow those who struggle with literacy or the English language to still take part. We believe each and every participant we work with are writers in their own right.

Words and Worlds

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