WRITING PROMPTS TO BENEFIT CHILDREN IN GAZA
UNICEF reports that in Gaza, “hundreds of thousands of children and families are caught in a catastrophic situation” and that, ongoing as of November 14th 2023, over 4200 children have been killed and more than 7000 have been injured “due to unrelenting attacks”, while over 1300 others are missing. According to the World Health Organization, one child is killed in Gaza every 10 minutes. Outlining the charity’s Appeal for Children in Gaza, UNICEF spokesman James Elder explains: “Gaza has become a graveyard for thousands of children. It’s a living hell for everyone else.” Elder has also called for “children held hostage in Gaza [to] be immediately reunited with their families and loved ones”. Recent updates state that “hundreds of thousands of children … remain trapped in a war zone with little or no access to food, water, electricity, medicine or medical care”.
For the duration of NaNoWriMo, we will be posting a writing prompt every day and in doing so, we are hoping to encourage our community to donate to charities providing medical aid to children in desperate need in this unprecedented crisis.
These prompts have been created by writers from Wales or with a connection to Wales and its magazines and presses. The prompts are on all kinds of subjects, but many are related to anti-violence and the work of empathy, and they are offered with the simple hope that they might encourage people to donate in support of medical aid in Gaza. We include a list of suggested charities to donate to below, highlighting the Appeal to Children in Gaza.
UNICEF “continues to call for an immediate ceasefire as 1.1 million people — nearly half of them children — in northern Gaza have been warned to move out of the way of a widescale military assault, but with nowhere safe for them to go”. Elder concludes: “The humanitarian situation has reached lethal lows, and yet all reports point to further attacks. Compassion – and international law – must prevail.”
DAY 29: YVONNE REDDICK
Self-Heal and Bee Balm: Poems about Plants
Foxglove, helleborine, grass of Parnassus, enchanter’s nightshade, balm of Mecca… the English language alone has an array of beautiful common names for plants.
From ‘parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme’ in the song ‘Scarborough Fair’ to Michael Longley’s poem ‘Self-Heal,’ plants have powerful symbolism in poems. No wonder when they have such rich associations in different cultures. Tulsi or holy basil is prized in Ayurvedic medicine; the ancient Greeks associated basil with kings. Thyme (za’atar) is a symbol of Palestinian resistance in Mahmoud Darwish’s poem ‘Ahmed Al-Za’tar.’
From the scent of herbs and spices in a grandmother’s secret recipe, to rose-petals that suggest a wedding bouquet, plants also have the power to conjure up memories.
– Look up some healing herbs or medicinal plants. Look at images of them – or even better, try to find some, and enjoy the scents of their flowers and leaves. Where do they grow? What properties are they meant to have? See if there are myths and legends associated with them.
– Do they bring back any memories or associations for you?
Here are four writing prompts that you can use to ‘grow’ plant-poems.
1. Focus on one or two healing plants. Shape a poem where you weave in their fragrance and appearance, medicinal properties and mythology, and the memories you associate with them.
2. Turn a plant into a character! Like Alice Oswald in Weeds and Wildflowers, imagine a plant’s personality and give it a voice.
3. Alternatively, try making a list-poem out of the names of edible plants or healing herbs.
Let your poem become a recipe, a physic garden, or a bouquet.
4. Retell a myth or legend associated with a plant. If you know a language other than English, try looking at some plant-names in that language and culture, and weave their magic into your poem.
Try reading Mahmoud Darwish’s ‘The Second Olive Tree,’ Zaffar Kunial’s ‘Poppy’, Grace Schulman’s ‘Balm in Gilead,’ or Noma Coles’s ‘Black Flowers’ for some plant-poems to inspire you!
Please consider donating to a charity providing medical aid in Gaza. We recommend UNICEF’s Appeal for Children in Gaza, but other charities include:
Palestine Children’s Relief Fund
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