27^th October 2010

Things Taking Shape

It’s 6pm, twilight, the reading group is about to begin. Twelve of us are sat around the table in a community centre at the heart of the city. We’re going to read Emma by Jane Austen. All very familiar territory for shared reading, you might say. Only that this group is at the heart of Aarhus in Denmark, and the twelve gathered around the table are taking part not only in a shared reading group, but a research study in which the benefits of this experience will be measured against numerous physiological and neurological outcomes. Brains have been scanned, blood samples taken. They’re not sure what to expect, and neither am I. The reading, after all, will be in Danish. It begins:

Emma Woodhouse var smuk, velbegavet og rig; hun ver lys af sin dog boede i et hjem, hvor der var godt at vaere; saaledes kunne det se ud til, at noget af det bedste, til vaerelsen kan byde, var faldet i nendes lod.

It’s a fascinating position to be in, so familiar with the shared reading model at work but so distanced from what is being read and said.  I hear names repeated time and again, jumping out to me from an unintelligible background: Miss Woodhouse, Mr Knightley, Miss Smith. Mette, the group facilitator, who only an hour or so ago introduced me to Aarhus, is introducing the group to Highbury and its inhabitants; I understand her expressive eyes, if not her words, and I read her gestures. What is that she draws with her finger on the table? A shape? A triangle. Ah yes, I see – Miss Woodhouse, Mr Knightley, Miss Smith. I continue to observe the group, and I begin to see how somehow this triangle drawn on the table resonates and expands itself into the group’s own gestures. For the first hour or so the readers were inhibited, their gestures, if any, directed in straight lines towards Mette. Back and forth, no more. As the reading goes on, however, they relax, move more, pick up on each other’s comments, point to the book in Mette’s hands and to each other as they speak. Relationships are taking shape, modelled by the book, made real by Mette’s hand. It is as though they are weaving something that binds them and the book together, and although I don’t understand what is being said, I know that I’ve seen this happen before.

These are only the first few hours of my visit to Aarhus to work with Mette on the development of Laeseforeningen and already I can tell that it’s going to be a busy time. This research project is only one of many activities in which she is involved; our main piece of work this weekend will be to run a training course for 16 volunteers who will run shared reading groups under the auspices of her new Danish ‘Reading Society’. I’m no longer surprised at how adaptable the trailblazing work of Get Into Reading is to new settings, cultures, languages – we’ve seen it work so many times before – but it is always a thrill to see new projects take shape in front of your eyes.

28^th October 2010

Busy Busy Busy

Not much time to write today – certainly no time to sightsee! A busy day planning the training course at Mette’s office at the university, and then moving swiftly on to the community centre for the second reading group for the research study. It was a fantastic group – everyone engaged with the book and relaxed into it straight away, much more quickly than last night’s group. I wonder what contributed to this different response? Combination of personalities? Mette and I having relaxed into the setting ourselves? Better biscuits?

During the break one group member came up to me to say how inspiring it was to hear of the work that TRO does in the UK, and how excited she was to be a revolutionary herself. She spoke not in the language of someone taking part in a research study, but of someone who was high on the thrill of a new experience. Another group member, in keeping with the Danish reputation for frankness, told me that: ‘It is already not as boring as I thought it was going to be.’ High praise indeed!

Had a beer in Aarhus’ Latin Quarter to celebrate before heading back to the university guesthouse’s very comfortable bed. Ideal for weary travellers!

Read to Lead Workshop
Thursday 14^th October 2010
Central Library
George IV Bridge
Edinburgh
EH1 1EG
10am – 4pm

Come along to this Read to Lead Workshop, hosted by Edinburgh Libraries, and discover how you can bring the power of great books to those who need it most.

This workshop is open to people from all professional and social backgrounds: a love of books, a belief in the social value of reading, and a passion to share this vision are our main criteria.

The outcomes of this Read to Lead Workshop are as follows:

• To develop your understanding of the theory and practice of Get Into Reading;
• To give you a chance to experience shared reading aloud as part of a GIR group;
• To introduce you to specialised shared reading and group facilitation techniques;
• To build your local contact base of people who are interested in GIR;
• To give you the opportunity to discuss strategies for developing groups in your area;
• To inform you about full Read to Lead Training courses and the University of Liverpool’s ‘Reading in Practice’ MA.

The cost of the course is £150 including lunch and refreshments. We offer one ‘no fee’ place on each course for individuals who cannot pay. Places on each workshop are limited to twelve, to preserve the intimate feel of the groups and to allow everyone a chance to speak and be heard.

To book your place, please fill in a booking form which can be downloaded from our website, or contact Mark Till, Training Programme Assistant on 0151 794 2286 or marktill@thereader.org.uk.

This course has been brilliant – other professional courses pale in comparison. This is the first time I have ever felt so enthused after a training course, with a real sense that I have learnt something which can make a difference.

 Come and spend five fun but intensive days at the beautiful Burton Manor in Cheshire, and learn how to run shared reading groups based on our Get Into Reading model. We will give you the insider view on what makes Get Into Reading work – reading aloud, choosing materials, facilitating a session, social inclusion – as well as the practical side of running a shared reading group. Our project workers and local group members will put you through a vigorous reading workout, help you identify areas of practice to work on, and give you the opportunity to lead reading groups in a companionable and supportive environment. Put simply, the course will give you all the understanding, experience and inspiration necessary to run your own project.

This course is open to people from all professional and social backgrounds: a love of books, a belief in the social value of reading, and a passion to share this vision are what we look for in trainees. There are 20 residential places on each course. Entry is via application form, which you can download from our website. The course costs £1,000 which includes tuition, accommodation and all meals. We offer one concessionary place at a cost of £100. This is strictly reserved for people in difficult circumstances who would struggle to pay. Please see application form for further details.

For more information, or to book your place, please contact Mark Till, Training Programme Assistant, on marktill@thereader.org.uk or 0151 794 2286.

Tess of the D’Urbervilles

Masterclass with Josie Billington

Wednesday 2nd June, 10.30am – 3.00pm
19 Abercromby Square, Liverpool, L69 7ZG
£30, including lunch and refreshments (£15 concessions)

Come along to read and discuss Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles with other readers in the company of Josie Billington, Lecturer in English at the University of Liverpool and The Reader Organisation’s Research Manager. Hardy writes,

She might have seen that what had bowed her head so profoundly – the thought of the world’s concern at her situation – was founded on an illusion. She was not an existence, a passion, a structure of sensations, to anybody but herself. … Almost at a leap Tess thus changed from simple girl to complex woman.

Read (in advance if you can) this brave and powerfully moving story of a young woman’s mistakes, second chances, the world’s crass failure to honour these, and Hardy’s – and her own – vital commitment, amid all, to the human scale.

Passages will be provided on the day but please bring a copy of the novel with you if possible.

To book your place on this Masterclass you need to complete a booking form, which you can download from this page on our website, and return it to Mark Till, Training Programme Assistant, by email marktill@thereader.org.uk or fax 0151 794 2291.

The Read to Lead team will be heading ‘Down Under’ to Melbourne, Australia, at the end of March to deliver a bespoke course at the State Library of Victoria. A group of 20 librarians and local partners will be trained to facilitate Get Into Reading groups, in what we hope will become a long-term international partnership with The Reader Organisation. The Reading Revolution really is going global!

A training commission from Melbourne is an indication of how the Read to Lead training is growing in both profile and confidence; with the strong possibility of a Danish Read to Lead course in the coming months we’re very much hoping that this is a sign of things to come.

For more information about Read to Lead training – wherever you are in the world(!) – please contact Mark Till.

As with all Read to Lead training courses, we are looking for candidates who are passionate about the transformative power of books and who can demonstrate a powerful willingness to develop a wide range of personal reading. You should be a good team member, self-motivated and, preferably, have had the kind of experience which will enable you to research, design and deliver reading programmes for community groups, people with multiple deprivations, or those with ill-health.

The course costs £800 and is scheduled run for six sessions on the following dates: 22nd September; 29th September; 6th October; 20th October; 17th November; 8th December. If you can attend all these session, and feel that you can satisfy our criteria, please contact Casi Dylan on casidylan@thereader.org.uk or 0151 794 2830.

I just got out of prison. Parc Prison, near Bridgend, south Wales. A prison for men in the land of my fathers. And I’m thinking in a way that has never been quite so pertinent about The Big Issues: the nature of freedom and confinement and justice and things like that. And education. And in my hand, I’m playing with a rose, an unexpected parting gift. A bright red rose made of bread and glue.

This flower (kind after-thought rather than romantic gesture) was given to me by my guide for the afternoon, Phil Forder, Arts Intervention Manager at Parc Prison. Eager to investigate the possibilities of developing Get Into Reading at Parc, he had invited me over to get a feel for the arts and education programme that he and his colleagues run, as well as for the prison environment itself. It’s a large institution, keeping over 1000 men and boys up on a green hill above a grey town. It reminds me of a big gym, full of echoes, testosterone and tattoos.

Phil takes me to the education department where men improve their English and maths, and to the speckled art rooms where youngsters make paintings and pots to send home to mum. He takes me to the library, where Sian the librarian tells me about her attitude to reading groups, which is wonderfully similar to that of The Reader Organisation‘s.

It’s very relaxed – we always have some tea on the go. We’ve read some great books: White Teeth, Of Mice and Men. They bring out some good stuff. One of the prisoners told us the other day that he loves Classical music. He’d never admit to that on his wing, mind

She is relieved to hear that others with a similar ethos are developing reading groups ‘on the outside’; unsurprisingly, one can feel a bit isolated inside Parc.

‘We have to get Get Into Reading going in here’, I think.

Then Phil takes me to see a cell in B Wing. Young offenders. The air is full of after-shave, the walls tacked with FHM. The curtains incongruously frilly.

‘It’s very small in here,’ I think.

And at the end of the afternoon, Phil hands me the bread rose. ‘A prisoner made it,’ he says. ‘He refused to leave his cell for weeks, didn’t come to classes, but presented a bunch of these to me one day. He’s made it from bread and glue, squeezed it flat and folded it into this. It’s quite beautiful isn’t it?’

It is. And sad. Somehow appallingly sad that from his daily portion, behind a thick door, an invisible inmate fashioned such immaculate fragility. Having hardened myself to what I had expected to encounter at Parc, I had not realised how vulnerable I was to such softness. And yet, from my experience with the revelations that Get Into Reading often inspires, I should have known to expect such human surprises. And I should be happy, not sad, in the thought that there is fertile ground for Get Into Reading in a Parc where bread roses grow.