BBC Radio Shetland Book Programme: Take A Walk In My Shoes

Press/Media: Research

Description

Three young people from the #ShetlandCrew, plus poet Jen Hadfield and researcher Siún Carden, discuss and read from the book Take A Walk In My Shoes, a collection of creative writing which was part of the Home and Belonging project and was launched during the Festival of Care: Tending the Light in February 2022. 

The segment begins 25 minutes in to the show, available here: February Books Programme with Mary Blance by BBC Shetland | Mixcloud

Quotes from young people during the broadcast: 

C: 'I think we've all managed to like really pull together because I absolutely love this book, it's amazing...I just cannot wait to share this with people. It's so exciting. There's so much life within paper. You know? It's very hard to put into words, but being able to share this with people who knows where that will eventually get to see this. It's such an exciting prospect.'

S: 'we started it in the middle of lockdown, a lot of it...it helped us be able to, I suppose, get through a really isolating time because we were all working through things that I suppose that when life stops, you have to start, stop and work through those things and we were all reading each other's pieces and Jen would always wake up in the morning and there would be a theme for the day on the chat and there would be some people that would wake up to groans and I think there was some people that woke up like me, I can't wait to get this done. I can't wait to do this bit today, but it's just amazing. The encouragement that was given along the way from each other and from all the adults and lighthouses that have kept us going...

I think it was very empowering.  I think everyone in the group’s grown as a writer, and I think the most beautiful thing is we wouldn't have all grown like we have grown as writers if we weren't all so different and dynamic as a group. There's things that I suppose that I've picked up along the way. We’ve got Anton in the group that's always writing about science, and I suppose there's parts of us that have taken science aspect into poems and stuff like that and into our work. We've grown together as a group, and our writing style maybe isn't something you'd be taught in school, but it's something that we've self-taught one another, and I think that's one of the most beautiful things about it is we have all developed and we could. Whether or not somebody in the group would say ‘Oh no, I've not gotten any better’, you just have to look at their pieces to know they’ve improved...

I think it's very poignant when you look back at the pandemic and a lot of people, when it hit, they had their mums and dads on the end of the phone. They had their aunties and uncles and I suppose a lot of us within the #Shetland crew, some of us didn't have that option to call up that person, so waking up to a message in the morning from one of the adults in the group saying ‘hi guys, how are you doing with this?’ and we’d all chip in  and it was like all the brothers and sisters. It was just a very family feel when I think a lot of us could have maybe really felt ostracized in life in that moment and really cut away from life, but that connection wasn't taken away from us due to this whole project.'

J: [it was good to be part of group] 'through the pandemic'.

Quote from Jen Hadfield during the broadcast: 

'what I've learned through this project is that as a young person in the care system, your life is being described by other people all the time, but you don't necessarily always get that much of a chance to describe it in your own words in your own way very often. And obviously that has a massive impact on your sense of self and your place in the world.'

Period17 Feb 2022

Media contributions

1

Media contributions

  • TitleRadio Shetland Books Programme: Take A Walk In My Shoes
    Degree of recognitionRegional
    Media name/outletBBC Radio Shetland
    Media typeRadio
    Duration/Length/Size15 minute segment
    Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
    Date17/02/22
    DescriptionThree young people from the #Shetland Crew, plus poet Jen Hadfield and researcher Siun Carden, talk about and read from the book Take A Walk In My Shoes, a collection of creative writing which was part of the Home and Belonging project and was launched during the Festival of Care: Tending the Light in February 2022.

    Segment starts 25 minutes into the show, available here: https://www.mixcloud.com/BBCShetland/february-books-programme-with-mary-blance/.

    Quotes from young people during this broadcast:

    C: 'I think we've all managed to like really pull together because I absolutely love this book, it's amazing...I just cannot wait to share this with people. It's so exciting. There's so much life within paper. You know? It's very hard to put into words, but being able to share this with people who knows where that will eventually get to see this. It's such an exciting prospect.'

    S: 'I think it was very empowering. I think everyone in the group’s grown as a writer, and I think the most beautiful thing is we wouldn't have all grown like we have grown as writers if we weren't all so different and dynamic as a group. There's things that I suppose that I've picked up along the way. We’ve got Anton in the group that's always writing about science, and I suppose there's parts of us that have taken science aspect into poems and stuff like that and into our work. We've grown together as a group, and our writing style maybe isn't something you'd be taught in school, but it's something that we've self-taught one another, and I think that's one of the most beautiful things about it is we have all developed and we could. Whether or not somebody in the group would say ‘Oh no, I've not gotten any better’, you just have to look at their pieces to know they’ve improved...I think it's very poignant when you look back at the pandemic and a lot of people, when it hit, they had their mums and dads on the end of the phone. They had their aunties and uncles and I suppose a lot of us within the #Shetland crew, some of us didn't have that option to call up that person, so waking up to a message in the morning from one of the adults in the group saying ‘hi guys, how are you doing with this?’ and we’d all chip in and it was like all the brothers and sisters. It was just a very family feel when I think a lot of us could have maybe really felt ostracized in life in that moment and really cut away from life, but that connection wasn't taken away from us due to this whole project.'

    J: [it was good to be part of the group] 'through the pandemic'.

    Quote from Jen Hadfield during this broadcast:
    'what I've learned through this project is that as a young person in the care system, your life is being described by other people all the time, but you don't necessarily always get that much of a chance to describe it in your own words in your own way very often. And obviously that has a massive impact on your sense of self and your place in the world.'
    Producer/AuthorMary Blance
    URLhttps://www.mixcloud.com/BBCShetland/february-books-programme-with-mary-blance/
    PersonsSiún Carden

Keywords

  • care experience
  • creative writing
  • home
  • young people