Gillie Bolton

We write before knowing what to say and how to say it, and in order to find out, if possible.

Jean-Francois Lyotard 1992

The function of the writer is to act in such a way that nobody can be ignorant of the world, and that nobody may say that he is innocent of what it's all about.

Jean-Paul Sartre (1948) 1950

My ‘writing room’ is in my head.

A room of one’s own isn’t a thing you can buy or rent.   It’s a place inside your head and once you own it no-one can take it from you.   It’s yours to go to as often and for as long as you choose.

Julie Myerson (2006)

Schoolboys have a master to teach them, grown-ups have the poets.

Aristophanes

Look around – there’s only one thing of danger for you here – poetry. (interrogated at gunpoint on his deathbed, when his house was raided)

Pablo Neruda

If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire ever can warm me I know that is poetry.  If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.

Emily Dickinson

‘When Nehru lay dying, he had written out the last verse of Robert Frost’s Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening on a piece of paper by his bed, and kept repeating the lines (‘And miles to go before I sleep…’)’

Neil Astley

Poetry should be part of every modern hospital...  It’s a powerful force, which can help us through the darkest times.  I would like to see more poets in residence, more poetry books in waiting rooms, more poems on the walls, more training in creative writing for doctors, and more poems printed on primary care leaflets.

Julia Darling

Friday 29th July 2005 Writing
Extract from a personal diary

I haven’t written for a while because I feel good and need no therapy! But I have to write because I am so inspired after reading Gillie Bolton’s book. I want to write to her saying how good it is. It is so funny. When I read the first page, I said, “Yes, I can relate to that.” I smiled and then I said another ‘yes’. “Yes… Yes! Yes!” It is like being seduced! Her introduction validated my madness – my desire to write, my style, any style, anything, anytime, anywhere, anyone, anyhow, anyway about everything or nothingness. And I wanted to send her my piece of ‘pain and passion’. I must write to thank her one day…

What an amazing journey. I never would have thought that all these years of studying and writing medical journals could end up into a passion on writing my diary for the newspaper as a weekly column. Writing for medical journals was like being Cinderella, making a beautiful dress and preparing for the ball with the little mice. But the review process can be harsh at times. The step-mother and step-sisters come along and tear it all apart.   You can’t go to the party but have to make some alterations first. Then it no longer looks like the original dress that you had intended to make. It is no longer your style nor does it suit you. It doesn’t look beautiful anymore.

Writing a diary is completely different – it is for your personal pleasure without the intention of leaving a mark in the professional literature. You can write it your way, using your own style. No one will tell you whether you are right or wrong, good or bad, appropriate or bad taste. It is just ‘you’ and you can be you and express yourself. It won’t get rejected. You won’t get hurt. This kind of writing is perfect. I am my own editor. No one tells me what to write except my hand. When I write, my heart is impatient while my mind is wondering what my heart is up to. My hands scribble spontaneously and my eyes just follow.

If I can write whenever, whatever and wherever, I feel a sense of freedom. It is a form of therapy, catharsis, reflection and creativity.    Whatever you call it, it is good!!

Yvonne Mak-Yi Wood