A Wardle man who has been in recovery from substance use for just over a year has contributed to a new poetry and audio walking trail.
A Wardle man who has been in recovery from substance use for just over a year has contributed to a new poetry and audio walking trail.
John Bailey is one of 15 people from Turning Point's Rochdale and Oldham Active Recovery service, known as ROAR, who worked with poet Phil Davenport on the project.
The group created seven spoken poetry pieces for If You Could Speak to the World, a self-guided walking route from Oldham town centre into Northern Roots.
Their recordings have been combined with music composed by Sophie Cooper and performed by Milnrow Band.
Mr Bailey, a former bar and restaurant manager, took part in outdoor sessions at Northern Roots during the spring and early summer.
The participants, aged from their 20s to their 70s, used the landscape to help create poetry and record sounds for the trail.
They also helped map the route and identify stopping points.
Mr Bailey said: “A big part of my recovery has been saying yes to things. And as an English literature graduate who grew up going on lots of walks, this opportunity really stood out for me.”
He is currently undertaking peer mentor training with ROAR ahead of postgraduate study in counselling and psychotherapy.
Describing one of the techniques used during the project, he said: “Phil had us write down answers to three questions: who we were grateful to and what message we would send them, what we look back on with sadness and what we thought the area we were walking through was like 150 years ago.
“We then 'curated' our own words to make a 'found poem' out of them. They were surprisingly profound and beautiful and, in this way, everyone in the group created a piece they could feel proud of.”
The shortest version of the trail is two miles and takes in all seven locations, while longer routes run for up to six miles.
Maps will be available from the Northern Roots Welcome Building and online from September.
Davenport said: “This is a sound walk like no other. We aren’t delivering a nature trail or a local history, but something much more unusual. We will be guided by the voices of local people in recovery: people who are intensely aware of the dark art of damage and the honesty needed to pull away from it.
“Their poems are the narrative for the walk, which takes us out of a busy, chaotic town centre, to the edge of where people are and then out beyond, into the woods and the wilds.”
The project was commissioned by visual arts organisation Portraits of Recovery for Recoverist Month and funded through Transport for Greater Manchester's Wheels and Walks programme.
Guided walks are due to take place during September and October to launch the permanent audio trail.
Rochdale Youth Council leader Daniel Murphy announces immediate resignation
East Lancashire Railway launches Christmas card competition for children
Police appeal for witnesses following death of man in Bury
Drug dealer jailed after being shot by police during Whitefield arrest
Edgar Wood Academy celebrates first GCSE results
Simister Island overnight closures planned
Major travel warning issued for Manchester city centre ahead of Pride weekend
Energy Secretary responds to Ofgem's £60 a year energy price cap increase
The Margaret Haes Riding Centre celebrates 60th anniversary
Rochdale mum passes GCSEs at 40 and secures place on teacher training course
More Rochdale pupils achieve higher GCSE grades in English and maths
Rochdale AFC installs sanitary bins to support men after prostate cancer treatment
Comments
Add a comment