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| Me working with pupils from Crabtree Farm recently. Image courtesy of Pete Hancock. |
With only a few weeks to go until I jet-off to the US, I’m
excitedly putting stuff into place with loads of amazing organisations in the
places I’ll be visiting. From the Super Hero Supply Store to a nexus of
colourful, chaotic portals art installation of non-linear storytelling (yes –
that’s a thing!), from big national charities to volunteer-led almost ‘mom and
pop’ community start-ups, from readers, writers, story-tellers, producers,
teachers and children – and anyone in-between – I’ve been a blur of emails and google
searches whilst I try to plot out what will be a genuinely life changing
experience which could also dramatically help many young people in Nottingham
too by increased opportunity and provision of literacy support.
This, to me, sometimes sounds a bit pompous however I do
feel that there’s some massive potential in this – as daunting as it often
seems. This “dauntingness” is what I’m looking at today.
Sometimes it’s useful to take stock of where you are with
this mad whirlwind of a combined: setting stuff up to visit when on your
scholarship in the States, developing links with new people and organisations
here in Nottingham and promoting what you’re doing as widely as possible –
alongside trying to fundraise and earn enough to make sure you can survive the
trip (and when you get back) financially.
However, I’ve managed to speak to a massive range of future
possible partners that can catalyse and accelerate what I hope to do. Nottingham
UNESCO City of Literature, Literacy Volunteers, Nottingham City Libraries,
Bromley House Library, Writing East Midlands and my awesome colleagues in Nottingham
Playhouse’s Participation department, in the city's Education Improvement Partnerships and at College Street are such a fantastic
support and have been spurs to action/wise sounding-boards. So too have been
many individuals within Nottingham City Council and the local politicians of
the city. This has been awesome to know that there’s what feels like a really
willing literacy community that want to deliver on shared literacy goals.
Equally, I’m feeling much more secure in myself being
able to pull the whole thing off through a combination of support from family
and friends (most notably Cáit, as always) and from getting myself caught up in
the scholarship, the planning and in all the other work I’m doing. I refuse to
wear what Cáit and I have come to term a “busy badge” (where freelancers boast
their worth based on the amount of work they have) but I will admit my
currently level of activity and work/Roosevelt tasks is much higher than in
some other periods when people haven’t been offering me as much work. I like
being engaged in doing stuff and have an awesome schools’ literacy project on
the go currently with Nottingham City Council and Wild In Art, plus Playground
Festival happening at Nottingham Playhouse! This, I feel, is a great gearing up
to my American adventure – I just need to make sure I’m not tired out by the
time I arrive!