Willenhall Writers’ Group and Their Wild and Wonderful Creative Black Country Commission
Jay by Gurdip Gill
In a leafy corner of Willenhall Memorial Park, something quietly powerful has been growing. What began as a casual conversation during a walk through Fibbersley Nature Reserve has blossomed into a vibrant writing group rooted in creativity, community and connection to place.
Led by poet and performer Emma Purshouse, the Willenhall Writers’ Group has spent the past year finding its voice – and through a recent Creative Black Country commission, that voice has come to life in poems, memoirs, songs and short films inspired by the natural spaces that surround them.
The group’s latest project, ‘Willenhall – Wild and Wonderful’, celebrates the often-overlooked green spaces of this Black Country town, from gardens and parks to hidden wildlife havens. Along the way, participants have stretched their skills, grown in confidence, and found joy in storytelling – whether through haiku, song, or memories of sparrows in childhood gardens.
In this Q&A, Emma reflects on the inspiration behind the theme, the creative journey of the group, and the powerful role local landscapes, and unexpected friendships, have played in shaping their work.
What inspired the theme ‘Willenhall – Wild and Wonderful’, and how did the group respond to exploring their hometown creatively?
Willenhall Writers’ Group meet in a pavilion in the middle of Willenhall Memorial Park. It’s a truly gorgeous park full of greenery and wildlife, so we thought that it’d be nice to explore the nature on our group’s doorstep.
Willenhall, like many of the small Black Country towns, are often thought of as post-industrial wasteland, and yet there are more green spaces than people might think. I suppose in part we wanted to highlight some of this natural beauty on our doorsteps, celebrate it, and perhaps remind people of the importance of retaining said green spaces. A short walk away from the park is Fibbersley Nature Reserve, which is also a very special place in terms of wildlife and birdlife, and it was a chance encounter in the reserve that led to the group forming in the first place (but more of that later).
Group members explored the theme very differently in terms of responses. We had pieces that were very much centred on the ‘Wild and Wonderful’ aspects of the now, and some pieces that recalled nature experiences of the past. For example, Nikki and Lesley focused on their own current Willenhall gardens, whereas Red focused on memories of a childhood encounter with sparrows. Terence Mills explored the nature in the town centre itself. Jackie and George focused on the Park. Mike went off rambling around Fibbersley. There were also group films where everybody contributed a short piece or two, which was paired up with images. One of those films was called ‘Parklife’ and the other ‘Birdlife’.
In terms of genre, we had everything from haiku, rhyming verse, memoir, articles, and even a song. Terry and Jackie perform music under the name Batter Bits, so as well as writing poems for our project, they also decided to pen a song, which was a very unexpected but welcome outcome.
Goldfinch by Gurdip Gill
You’ve worked with the Willenhall Writers on a number of creative activities – how did this commission differ, and what impact has it had on the participants?
Willenhall Writers has been going for nearly about a year. I was one of the founding members, and previously to the commission we were all getting to know each other and finding our feet. We had held workshops that were very much stand-alone efforts, which focused on activities which were generic enough to allow people to write within their comfort zone. Many people were writing work for their own pleasure rather than for sharing.
To undertake a commission on a theme was something very different. People were stretching themselves to write about a subject that they might not have normally gravitated towards.
The commission enabled us to plan and deliver a range of activities to stimulate writing on a theme. As part of the commission, members of the group were offered support to enable them to lead parts of the sessions themselves. Again, this was pushing people out of their comfort zones, but in a good way. This is a great way to make the group sustainable and not reliant on one member who takes on the workshop leader role every session. People’s confidence has grown in doing this, and now people volunteer to run parts of a session.
The feedback suggests that everyone is delighted with their achievements. The project has galvanised the group. People knowingly working towards publication has meant they have worked to hone their writing skills, completed work to deadlines, and started to develop their performance and reading aloud skills.
The final work includes poems, stories, memoirs and even a song. Can you tell us more about how these pieces came together and what we can expect to find on the new YouTube channel?
We hope that people will dip in and out of the YouTube channel and explore the pieces on offer. There is a range of very different work. The films were created in a variety of ways and people contributed in ways that their technology allowed. Many of the group members had smartphones and were able to record themselves and take pictures, which were used in the films. Some people didn’t have this kind of tech, so they were supported to record their pieces.
You mentioned some participants had to overcome nerves about recording and filming – what was that learning curve like for the group and how did you support each other?
Mike was keen to appear in his film, but most of the other group members wanted to try audio before appearing in front of a camera. Many people, and this is a thing in the Black Country in particular, I think, don’t like the sound of their ownvoice, so for some members of the group, this was a real step out into uncharted territory to produce audio that was for public consumption.
Group members who wanted to record in the privacy of their own home were given top tips on how to make the recording seem natural and advice on programmes they could use to record and edit their work.
For those folk who didn’t want to record themselves, or didn’t have the tech to record themselves, we met with them in the park or at their homes to support them with getting their audio sorted.
Since day one of the group everybody has always been really supportive of each other, they’re a very kind and giving bunch. They encourage and praise each other’s achievements, so this vibe was carried forward into the project. Some people hadn’t written since school before they joined the group, and some were a bit unsure of the worth of what they were doing. But I think the support from other group members has meant that they’ve started to see how wonderful self-expression of this sort can be. And hopefully everyone feels the pride that they should feel now that they’ve seen their work valued and enjoyed by others.
Personally, I’ve learnt how to make films as part of this project, so it has been a wonderful opportunity for me to upskill. Some of the group also now want to explore further the filmmaking elements since they’ve seen their work produced in this way, and that will be an ongoing element of the group’s progress. We’ve got a YouTube channel and we’re going to use it!
Wood Pigeon by Gurdip Gill
What role did the local community and places like Fibbersley Nature Reserve play in shaping the work and why was that important?
Weirdly, the group initially came about due to a walk in Fibbersley. I bumped into one of the now group members Mike, a few years ago over the nature reserve when I was out walking. I’d worked with Mike in a college environment many moons ago when I ran a creative writing group for adults. Mike said he’d loved those sessions, but had never done anything since, and suggested I might like to set up a writers' group in Willenhall. I bumped into him quite often after that, and he suggested it fairly frequently. I wasn’t sure how much interest there would be and didn’t do anything about it for a long time.
More recently, I was walking in the park and got nattering to a chap called George. He loved poetry, and he told me that he wrote. I talked George into writing for the Blackcountryman magazine which I edit.
So between George and Mike and my own need to get a bit of writing going after a bit of a lull, we decided to set something up. And it’s gone from there.
The CBC commission itself has involved people from the local community who aren’t members of the group. We talked a lot of the dog walkers into letting us photograph their dogs. Gurdip Gill, who photographs the wildlife over Fibbersely, very kindly allowed us to use his amazing pictures. And Trevor Latham, who makes films of Willenhall, also got involved and made a little film of the group.
The project was also a great way of letting the community know what we’re up to. We’ve had a couple of new
people come along since we’ve been doing the project.
Having a YouTube channel means we’ve been able to share the work produced in the Facebook groups for the town and for the town’s green spaces e.g Friends of Fibbersley Nature Reserve.
What’s next for the Willenhall Writers? And how can people get involved if they’d like to join the group?
We are a group for people over the age of 16 from a WV12 or WV13 postcode, and welcome new members. We meet once a month on a Saturday morning at 10am until 12 noon in the Pavilion in Willenhall Memorial Park. If anybody would like to find out more they can email poetsprattlerspandemonialists@gmail.com
Our next meetings will be 2nd August, 6th September, 18th October, 15th November and 13th December. We’ve asked group members to let us know some of the aspects of writing they’d like to explore next. I think now that people’s confidence is increased, we’ll be looking to encourage each other to start sending work out to magazines and competitions.
I’m sure it won’t be too long before we dream up another project.
We’d like to thank Creative Black Country and Arts Council England for the commission opportunity. It’s been wonderful…and of course of wild!
