Publisher's Synopsis
An illustrated art and poetry resource based on a small selection of objects from the vast collections held at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. This is a fun and creative learning resource for stimulating creative writing, performance work, reading and discussion. The book will take you on a journey from Renaissance Italy to the Far East; you can time travel between ancient artefacts and works of modern art. Each poem begins with a short introduction letting you know some of the fascinating history of the object that inspired it. Age guide is from around 10 years to adult, with some poems suitable for younger primary children and others aimed at age 12 years and above. Many of the poems are well suited to live performance; each one has been performed at the Ashmolean in its relevant gallery. You’ll find pieces in here that can be set to music or acted out. There is drama, humour, song and one poem that can be used as a prompt for mindfulness and meditation. The object is for you to enjoy the objects, have a go at performing the poems - either as hinted at in the book, or in your own ways. Then you might like to try out some new ideas of your own. Content includes: a scripted poem about Henry VIII and His Six Wives, a menu poem served on a Roman fish plate, a song lyric inspired by a ship in a storm and a mermaid… a flamingo calypso, and more… This book is a follow on to 'A Visitor to the Forest', a poem designed for performance, (by the same author), which is suitable for many voices, and inspired by Paolo Uccello's masterpiece: 'The Hunt in the Forest' which is on display in the Ashmolean Museum.
