Skill Up Your Poetry with Synaesthesia with Akila Richards

Winchester Poetry Day 2024

Skill Up Your Poetry With Synaesthesia with Akila Richards

What is Synaesthesia? It is a rare medical condition where people may taste words or hear colours. And we can use this rarity skilfully in poetry and prose writing.

Let’s have fun and play with our senses to create imaginative poems and writing and another quality to your lines and verses or end with a surprising twist. We can use this technique to make descriptions more vivid and radiant.

We exchange one sense for another to create strong images and delve deeper into emotions. Imbue your sound with colour, and let colour perfume your eyes, or can you taste the number three, do you see Sunday in yellow?

Join Writing Our Legacy poet Akila Richards in this fun experimentation and create a new poem that may surprise you with all your senses.

Drop in and join the session between 11 and 1pm

Akila Richards is an award-winning poet, writer and spoken word artist, performing and collaborating nationally and internationally. Her work features in collaboration with artists and genres for theatre, film, visual arts and digital platforms. Her portfolio includes facilitating and initiating creative and cultural events, offering creative workshops, managing projects and providing mentoring and coaching to writers. From an Artist-in-House residency at Brighton Dome, Akila is developing ‘The Rest Experience’ programme. Her poetry and prose are published in Covert Magazine, Creative Future, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Peepal Tree, Penguin, Waterloo Press, Brighton Festival and online platforms. Her latest fiction is included in the speculative anthology ‘Glimpse’ at Peepal Tree Press. Her poetry pamphlet “Ritual for a Mango’ was edited and published by Flipped Eye and launched on 2nd February 2024 at the International Black Speculative Writing Festival at Goldsmith University.

Writing Our Legacy CIC is an arts and heritage organisation that enables Black, Asian and ethnically diverse/BPOC people to tell their stories through writing and the creative arts. We were established in 2012 and are an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation 2023-26.

Suitable for: all ages and abilities

Duration: 2hr drop-in session

Format: in person

Access: relaxed performance

Host or Publisher Winchester Poetry Festival