Our creative anthology: Collage

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, 18 March 2021
Our creative anthology: Collage
Sea Mouse © Barry Yates

By Lucy Townsend

Guest blogger

Our anthology is gathering pace, and thank you so much for your entries so far. They’re brilliant. This week I want to look at collaging as a way of creating a piece of writing.

The thought of getting out the glue stick and scissors might come a bit too soon after home schooling for some of you, but collaging is a perfectly adult art form and one that’s great for people who might a) want to create something quirky and playful, and b) lack confidence writing poetry.

Here are a few lines from a collage I created after the first lockdown…

Pic1 lockdown 1

Start by going through a magazine or a newspaper (leaflets and old takeaway menus can be good too), and pick out phrases or single words that you like. At this point you’re not thinking about a finished piece, it’s more about building a bank of material.

I think it’s effective to pick through a couple of contrasting publications, for example your latest Sussex Wildlife Trust magazine and a glossy fashion one. Cycling magazines and newspaper travel features are quite good for this too.

Once you have your bank of words and phrases it’s time to move them about on your page. Try different combinations and see what you can create, and hold off gluing them down until you’re sure you’ve got the right combination.

If you’re looking for inspiration this week then I’m going to point you towards our Instagram page, and the particularly brilliant sea mouse that was washed up on the high tide line at Rye Harbour (and put back into the sea for a second chance).

It’s a marine worm - VERY slow moving and covered in iridescent bristles, and looks a bit like a big furry, slug. Enjoy!

PIC 2 sea mouse

How to submit your work

Your work needs to be a maximum of 14 lines of poetry or 150 words of flash fiction, previously unpublished, that mark this specific time and the uplifting role of wildlife. A Sussex Wildlife Trust panel will then pick a selection to publish in our online anthology.

Closing date: 12 April 2021

Upload your work here

Lucy Townsend is a writer, journalist and wildlife lover based in Sussex. She has worked for the BBC and Sky, among others, and is currently flexing her writing muscles on a MA in Creative Writing at the University of Brighton.

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