Day 1: Reading to Live Well

Reading really does make you feel better, especially when it’s shared, and one of the main purposes of Day 1 was to explore this topic with a variety of professionals from public, private, and third sector organisations. Our Get Into Reading groups read aloud together in places ranging from care homes, GP surgeries, libraries, schools, community centres, in-patient mental healthcare settings, and prisons, improving wellbeing and providing stability, support, and a love of literature for their members. The day consisted of a mix of general plenary sessions complemented by breakout sessions focusing on a particular area of The Reader Organisation’s work.

Charlotte, Reader-in-Residence at Liverpool Hope University, highlights one of her top moments:

“‘The Consequences of Reading’, in which TRO Director Jane Davis spoke to Professor Jonathan Rose about his book ‘The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes; was without a doubt one of my favourite parts of the first day of the conference. It was brilliant to see Jane in such enthusiastic conversation with a person who is clearly a personal hero of hers, and whose book has meant so much to her. I thought it was really important that the session felt like a conversation, and was fairly informal, rather than a typical ‘lecture’ or formal Q&A session.

As an English graduate myself, I found it incredibly interesting hearing Jonathan speak about his views on the responsibility of the academic to address the over-theoretical approach to literature in education environments in modern times. He commented that, 50 years ago, English was one of the most popular subjects at university, but that in recent times there has been a significant ‘falling-off’, and that he saw the cause of this to be the de-personalisation of literature, and lack of focus on the role of the reader. I was very interested by Jonathan’s comment that he saw it as his duty to put ‘the reader first and foremost in literary history: they are the one who gives the book individuality and agency – ‘they make it do something.’

Towards the end of the conversation, Jane and Jonathan spoke about the fact that there is not much opportunity given to children in society now to listen to a story over a long period of time. ‘Story times’ in schools tend to focus more on short snatches of reading, in which the child is asked to look for specific things, and feed-back on afterwards. Jonathan commented that he saw it as incredibly important that we don’t necessarily ‘ask for something in return’ when we read to a child – that we should let the story wash over them, and sink-in over time.”

Our twitter hashtag for the Conference, #TRO2012, also prompted an enthusiastic response from the audience:

#TRO2012 if only every GP could see what Dr Iona Heath can see. (@TriciaCanning)

#TRO2012 Inspirational stuff yesterday & such enthusiastic staff, would love to see it rolled out in our organisation (@OT_LisaB)

#TRO2012 CRILS – Entertaining, informing and challenging – the best presentation by academics I have ever seen (@devonbiker)

The knowledge of the speakers and the passion displayed by everyone both on stage and off was truly inspirational. Exhausted, but elated, we geared up for Friday…

Day 2: Living to Read Well

This day was exclusively designed for people who had completed our Read to Lead training and are practising as Shared Reading Facilitators. Day 2 was therefore a combination of practical sessions on reading aloud and choosing material, problem solving and literary masterclasses. Equally valuable was the opportunity to meet and catch-up with other Shared Reading Facilitators from around the UK and beyond, providing encouragement and advice on this challenging but rewarding practice.

Credit Steve Wasserman, http://readmesomethingyoulove.com

Undoubtedly, the highlight of the day for many was Lemn Sissay in conversation with Jane Davis. An advocate for Looked After Children, young people with whom The Reader Organisation also works closely, he was by turns hilarious and heart-breaking, as Michael, our Events and Publications Intern, explains:

“There was a great deal of hype surrounding Lemn Sissay’s conversation with Jane.  An expectant audience had heard a lot about this

c.Helen Kielt

charismatic writer and, I have to say, he didn’t disappoint.  What could be added to Lemn’s already extensive list of job titles (including: poet, playwright, social commentator) is performer. His energy on stage kept us on the edge of our seats, whilst his anecdotes had us laughing and murmuring our agreement in equal amounts.

But what shone through most was Lemn’s passion for children and the effect great literature can have on their minds and their lives. ‘Books open up a free space inside a child’s imagination’, Lemn affirmed.  He listed a number of characters from literature who were orphaned at a young age or who grew up in care – Oliver Twist, Harry Potter, Bruce Wayne, Jane Eyre – and argued that it is these characters that should be utilised more effectively to demonstrate to us all just how significant looked-after children are, and the important part they play in our society.”

Twitter was buzzing in response, once again:

Fabulously moving and funny Lemn Sissay #TRO2012 (@HelenKielt)

#TRO2012 what a day! What a day! What a day! What a day! (@RachelNiblock)

train home from @thereaderorg#TRO2012 conference @britishlibrary – words not enough to voice my awe of the past two days. Amazing people.(@ajeastwood)

The impact the conference had on all of us here at The Reader Organisation itself was phenomenal  – we were intellectually stimulated, re-energised and inspired, and hope you were too. The Twitter hashtag is still live, so please continue to voice your thoughts online @thereaderorg.

There’ll be more on the blog in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, roll on 2013…

Policy Provocations is a series of lectures, led by the University of Liverpool and City Region partners, which brings together perspectives from leading international, UK and local thinkers to provide a platform for passionate public debate on issues that affect us all.  Taking on big policy challenges that shape our future, Policy Provocations confronts them with informed and reasoned debate and asks how we can tackle such challenges in new ways.

The next Policy Provocations event asks the question ‘Do we still need libraries?’. Historically, libraries have helped bring literacy to the masses as well as providing a sense of community, improved health and promotion of wellbeing, but do they still serve the same purpose in a changing society?

The panel will include Sue Charteris, Chair of The Reader Organisation; Alan Davey, Chief Executive, Arts Council England; Councillor Keith Mitchell CBE, Former Leader of Oxfordshire County Council; and, before his guest appearance at The Reader Organisation 2012 Conference, Professor Jonathan Rose. The lecture will be followed by an informal reception for all from 7pm.

Tickets to the event are free but booking is essential; to book your place, please visit the University of Liverpool website or call 0151 794 2650.

The TRO patron has written a thoughtful comment piece for The Observer, inspired by the recent TEDx event at which he appeared alongside our very own Jane Davis and calling for a focus on reading for pleasure to overcome the ‘cult of testing’ that confronts many children:

“I think pleasure is a form of attention. If you can take pleasure in something – an idea, an activity – then your brain will happily entertain it for years without aim or objective. It’s therefore a particularly open form of thinking that allows you to surprise yourself and the rest of humanity.”

Read the article in its entirety here.

Jane also shared her experience of the TEDx Liverpool event over on her own blog: yet more illuminating reading material.

TEDx is a programme of local self-organised events created by TED in order to make sure that people everywhere can experience ‘ideas worth spreading’ from the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers. TEDXObserver is taking place in Sadler’s Well’s, London, this coming Saturday 10th March, but the talks will be simulcast to a number of regional events which will also feature exclusive talks of their own.

Jane will be appearing at the Bluecoat in Liverpool, delivering a talk on ‘The Social Importance of Reading’, alongside TRO patron Frank Cottrell-Boyce, astrophysicist Robert Simpson, Roy Boulter and Sol Papadopoulos of Hurricaine Films. The event will be hosted by Tim Adams, staff writer on The Observer.

Tickets for Saturday cost £10, including lunch, and are available here.

“so you’ll go to the wedding in her car …”

“I tried to get something that hadn’t been tested on animals …”

“and he said if I take 500, would that be alright…”

“I fancy doing that…”

“just a couple of night’s bed and breakfast, that’s all …”

“huhuhuhuhuhushluhuhuhuhuhuhu…”

“her name’s Dionne and she’s got an adopted son at work…”

“it could get quite wet and you’ve got your best shoes on …”

“you don’t know, there could be any sort of crocodile in there …”

“he didn’t have his pyjamas on and so …”

“the driving wasn’t the problem …”

“if she chooses to be that way, then that’s up to her…”

“where are we going to wash our hands?” “I know, I was just thinking that”.

Libraries: quiet, calm and relaxing? My earliest memory is of a library that was dramatic, daunting and dangerous. Daughter of an academic, I was a regular visitor to the library at the University of Essex. How I dreaded our library visits, anxious at the very thought of what lay inside. I did however love visiting other parts of the University; being of the plate-glass variety, the campus was a four-year old’s delight. I was young enough to skillfully perform various acrobatics in public (spinning and cartwheels mostly) whilst staring at my wonderful reflection in the huge glass-walled buildings, blissfully unaware of anyone but myself. Then, there was the fountain! Even at at the age of four, the physics of this huge contraption fascinated me: a large metal box at the top of the fountain (somehow) filled with water and then tipped its contents below, filling a range of smaller boxes, creating a cacophony of resounding splashes. How the top box filled with water, again and again, I still haven’t resolved (but I’m pretty sure that my four year old mind has distorted the image and there is a perfectly rational explanation for this seeming freak of physics). Memories of that fountain have persisted; when reading the opening scenes of The Duchess of Malfi, years later, my mental picture of Webster’s fountain was not early sixteenth century Italianate but, somewhat annoyingly, a1960s metal construction. As a child, however, I distinctly remember that the excitement of seeing (and hearing) the fountain made up for the dread of the library visits….

My experiences at the University of Essex did put me off visiting libraries for quite a few years (hence my intimate knowledge of second-hand bookshops in the various locations I have lived). I do, however, have very fond memories of a bitter-sweet experience in the library at Gospel Oak, London. This visit was with my two year old son. About twenty young children were sat neatly on the mottled carpet of the children’s section; a (what I presumed to be) teacher was sat in the middle, wedged between two fantastically high columns of books. As we approached, my son’s eyes lit-up and he ran over to the imperious woman in the centre of the circle, jumped on her lap and waited patiently for the story to begin. Bemused (but not letting this interfere with her tight-lipped demeanour) the woman sat and stared straight ahead, obviously waiting for someone to come and remove the offending object. I took my time: partly because I did not view my son’s enthusiasm as offensive but mainly because my legs were severely crossed. Once my laughter was under control I went and retrieved my son and apologised but did not get a response. What a pity that a woman surrounded by books and young children (and sat on by one enthusiast) could not humour herself : a word, a smile would have sufficed.

It was during my years as a secondary school teacher that I was more acutely reminded of my early fear of libraries. I would often take groups to the school library and noted on several occasions the frighteningly high percentage of children who were ill at ease in this situation. Choosing a book was a pressure not a joy. One girl, I remember, spent twenty minutes pacing up and down, looking at the shelves with panic in her eyes. I offered help several times but she refused. She eventually chose a book and sat down with it, looked at the cover for two minutes and then put it back and started the next round of pacing the shelves. This, unfortunately, was not an uncommon occurrence.

Books, however, were not what had scared me in my earliest experience of a library. What had scared me? It was the huge, rotating metal contraption at the back of the building. The fear would set in from the moment I stepped through the glass doors at the front of the library. Row upon row of books were daunting but exciting to my four year old self; it wasn’t the towers of books that made me quake in my little shoes. It was the lift up to the first floor (and we always had to go to the first floor). The lift that involved taking a leap of faith to get on and off it. I have since found out that these lifts are known as paternosters: moving lifts on a loop with open compartments that you have to jump on to when the bottom of the lift meets the floor of the building. A wrong move or a misjudged floor level could result in horrible injury and disfigurement (I had a lively imagination). What happened if you stayed on the lift and didn’t manage to jump off before the lift rotated at the top of the loop? This was my main concern. Fortunately I never found out but Wikipedia reliably informs that five people were killed in paternosters between 1970 and 1993; perhaps my childhood fears were well grounded (sorry about the pun).

I am pleased to say that this early associative fear didn’t result in a life-long phobia of books. In fact, I am currently running GIR groups in two Devon libraries for people living with dementia and their carers. Several attending these sessions claimed early on not to be “poem people” and their initial apprehension immediately reminded me of my early fear of libraries. These same people are now eagerly coming each week because, as one woman said,

“I’ve never read poetry before, this has made me think differently”

and another replied,

“me too but I actually really like this”.

For many people, picking up a book or coming to a GIR session has certainly been a leap of faith. Working in libraries is now the high point of my week (something I never thought I would say); although I would like to point out that there is not a paternoster in sight, just lively, interesting people and rows and rows of beautiful books.

We’ve joined forces with Liverpool’s favourite eatery, The Quarter (on Faulkner Street, Liverpool), to celebrate the launch of The Quarter Library – a new space dedicated to kicking back with a book, and sharing books and food with friends.

To launch its brand new Library area in fitting fashion, we’re hosting a ‘Food for Thought’ event, running shared reading groups with extracts from A Little, Aloud over some light bites and coffee courtesy of The Quarter. And what’s more, it’s free!

We’d like to invite readeronline readers along to this small, relaxing and delicious event but places are limited and there are only a few places left. Please send us an email or give us a call (0151 794 2830) and get your place reserved before someone else beats you to the antipasto…

Jemma Foster‘s collection of twelve short story books are not available on Kindle or iPad, nor do they appear in hardback or paperback, but are instead handmade from recycled cardboard, bought from Buenos Aires’ cardboard pickers who make a living collecting it from the streets and are painted by hand, making each one entirely unique.

Inspired by these cardboard books, Jemma put together a collection of stories, with the theme of the human senses not only binding the tales together as a body of work, but also acting as an umbrella over the ideas and philosophical concepts that have niggled, fascinated and haunted Jemma for some time.

For every book sold in the UK, a book is donated to Abuelas Cuentacuentos – Storytelling Grandmothers - charity that invites elderly volunteers to read to children in the poorest parts of Argentina. All other profits will go towards providing them with a ‘grannymobil’ library bus.

The project is a collaborative effort and a number of artists and designers, all close friends of the author, have donated their talents to illustrate the stories.

The books are available to buy online and from independent bookshops such as Notting Hill’s Travel Bookshop, Brick Lane’s Eastside Books and Hackney’s Broadway Bookshop.

• Dementia is significantly affecting every health and social care system in the world.
• Dementia care costs around 1 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP).
• If dementia care were a country, it would be the world’s 18th largest economy (ranking between Turkey and Indonesia).
• By 2030, worldwide societal costs will increase by 85 percent (a very conservative estimate considering only increases in the number of people with dementia).

You can read a summary of the report here: http://www.alz.org/documents/national/World_Alzheimer_Report_2010_Summary(1).pdf

ADI are calling for global action to address what the authors, Professor Anders Wimo and Professor Martin Prince are calling ‘the most significant health crises of the 21^st century’. Professor Prince urged nations to develop better plans for caring for the millions who have the disease. “The care of people with dementia is not just a health issue – it is a massive social issue,” he said.

Actress Lynda Bellingham has been speaking out about her family’s experience of the disease. Five years ago she lost her adoptive mother, Ruth, to Alzheimer’s disease; only a year later she learnt that her birth mother, Marjorie, also has the condition. She has spoken about the way in which she noticed, following Ruth’s diagnosis in the late 90’s that no one talked about the Alzheimer’s.

 People are scared to death of even hearing the word dementia, but someone is diagnosed with it in the UK every three minutes…It affects at least 750,000 people and costs the economy £23 billion a year, twice the cost of cancer, three times the cost of heart disease. Yet in 2007-08, cancer research received £248.2 million, while dementia research received just £32.34 million. As a subject it’s just not sexy.

But surely with these latest findings things must change. It shouldn’t just be on one day a year that the news headlines draw attention to the millions living with this disease. If it is to be dealt with, there needs to be action. More money needs to be committed to research, to supporting carers who look after loved ones and to improving the quality of care that people living with Alzheimer’s receive.

At The Reader Organisation we are passionate about the positive effects that shared reading can have for those living with dementia. Over the last four years delivering Get Into Reading in dementia care homes we have seen firsthand the impact it has, with outcomes including improved communication skills, improved concentration and the ability to be calm in difficult situations. One care worker recently commented

I have seen the effect that it has on people; people that I didn’t think had that in them. It was a shock for me, I hadn’t heard them talking like that before, but the poems brought something out of them and you could see they were enjoying it, and they were all talking together and listening to one another. You don’t usually get that here.

Even more encouraging is the feedback we have had from residents themselves who talk about how poetry has had a positive effect on their mood or state of mind:

I like this…I like it because sometimes when I’m a bit lost I can’t think about it, but this helps me to go through and see it there and think.

Reading group member, Redholme Memory Care Home

In light of these outcomes, we have established a research partnership with the University of Liverpool and we are working to secure funding to further explore the benefits of reading to people living with dementia.

We are also delivering training for care home staff so that they can deliver GIR groups and one to one reading sessions with the people they work with and incorporate them into their practice, creating a sustainable model.

At the end of this month, our first book A Little, Aloud: An anthology of poetry and prose for reading aloud to someone you care for is being published. This is a selection of the very best prose and poetry chosen especially for reading aloud, all tried and tested by us and with lively reading notes and ideas based on actual discussions from our ‘Get Into Reading’ groups. Fiona Phillips, who has spoken out about caring for her parents, who both developed dementia, has commended the book saying

Reading aloud brings health and happiness: guaranteed! I urge you to buy this book, read the wonderful (and funny, surprising, thought-provoking) pieces collected here to someone you care for and see the results for yourself.

It is our hope that this book will provide inspiration for family members, friends and care staff to share some time reading aloud with someone they care for and talking together about what they read. It is a small but significant way in which we can all take action and brighten the day of someone living with dementia. It would be a wonderful thing, if by World Alzheimer’s Day 2011 we could see the positive impact being had in care homes across the country through shared reading.

To find out more/order your copy of A Little, Aloud click here...

All royalties in full go to The Reader Organisation.

In the heated theological debate about whether a miracle is a temporary suspension of natural law, or whether Some Higher Power works within nature to create what we perceive as a miracle, The Reader Organisation takes no part. We’re too busy trying to get people reading. But today, during the making of lunch, the matter was unavoidably thrust upon us. Take a look at the picture above. Particularly at the strange, miniature-basketball-like object poised above the latest edition of The Reader magazine. 

Is it a sign? Very possibly. A symbol? Almost certainly. An egg? Oh yes. And it’s spherical. Perfectly spherical.

All good revolutions need their own mythology. The first Reader miracle has, Dickens knows, taken a while to arrive. Now it has, the hermeneutics can begin. Several things, however, are certain: Sonja Sohn’s visit will be an astounding success; England will win the World Cup; and all the peoples of the Earth will put their differences aside and work together to create a better, gentler, more spherical world.

Or we could eat it…