Could Shared Reading help someone you know?

Our Shared Reading project enables people of all ages and backgrounds to share poems, short stories and novels, generally at group sessions. Currently these have been cancelled and we are finding other ways to contact the group members, such as using Zoom and Skype to hold group sessions.

We have now produced a series of videos in which Shared Reading Coordinators, Lyndsey Ramsden and Jo Wright-Symonds, read and discuss some of their favourite poems. The first is one of Lyndsey's favourites: Hope is the Thing with Feathers by Emily Dickinson.

As we can’t physically meet at the moment, one of the ways that we keep in touch is to send the participants postcards with poems on to keep in touch with them. We are also collaborating with Age UK Derby and Derbyshire to support their Coronavirus Letter Friends project, sending poems and making contact with those unable to see friends and family at this time. So far we have sent almost 100 postcards out.

We feel that there must be other local groups and individuals who would benefit from Shared Reading.

If you are interested or are a member of a group that would be interested in a virtual/Zoom Shared Reading session, please get in touch by emailing: shared.reading@derbybookfestival.co.uk