Black British Writing & Art in Hackney
A learning resource inspired by the themes and content of a temporary exhibition, People Power, at Hackney Museum (October 2016-January 2017)
Part of
African and Caribbean History and Heritage in Hackney
A series of learning resources created by staff at Hackney Museum
Available at: www.hackney.gov.uk/museum-teaching-resources
Notes for teachers
This presentation includes information about various artists, writers and activists with links to Hackney for teachers to adapt and share with their class.
There are notes for teachers in the “speaker notes” section of the slides.
This resource has been designed with KS2 classes in mind, but there are many elements that could be adapted for other learners.
We have combined research and information from the exhibition with suggestions for possible related activities. Please feel free to edit and adapt this resource as necessary for your learners. Please do not remove any picture credits, where these have been included. If credits are not included, pictures have been reproduced under Creative Commons license.
Contents:
Vivian Usherwood - schoolboy & published poet slides 3-8
Patrice Lawrence - children’s and young people’s author slides 9-13
Dennis Morris - world famous photographer who worked with Bob Marley slides 14-15
Pauline Wiltshire - autobiography writer slides 15-21
The Lenthall Road workshop - making posters slides 22-24
Trees by Vivian Usherwood
A tree is tall�A tree is small�A tree is fat �A tree is thin�It comes in all shapes and sizes��Some grow themselves�Some grow lychee balls�Some grow apples �But some are too lazy �To grow anything
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�I grow myself �I am thin�I don’t come in shapes and sizes �Because there is only me�And I am small�And I eat�Instead of growing things for myself��© Vivian Usherwood 1972 �
The Sun Glitters As You Look Up by Vivian Usherwood
The sun glitters, is shining bright!�The sky is blue!�The clouds are no longer there:�It glitters as I look up!�Bright, it is bright as my sister’s face:�The sun looks like a face without a body, �Just round with a nose and two eyes. �If only that beautiful face would come down – �It will be mine, �And I shall shine with it. �
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As dim as I am now I will be brighter, �Even brighter than the sun itself. �So it shall be. �And I shall be as dim as ever, �For it shall stay there for many years to come.��© Vivian Usherwood 1972 �
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In Trouble by Vivian Usherwood
Whoever is caught
I get the blame
Wherever you go
I get into trouble.
If Tom and I was fighting
And get caught,
I will be the one to get in trouble,
And Tom gets a big cuddle.
It encourages him to do it again and again,
Even over the dinner table.
Whoever is naughty
I get the blame
And they get a cuddle.
© Vivian Usherwood 1972
Discuss Vivian Usherwood’s poems
What are these poems about?
How are they similar to and different from other poems we are familiar with?
What are the important things that we need to remember when reading this poem out loud?
Can we make any guesses about who the author was (how old, where they lived) from what they say in the poems?
Vivian Usherwood
Vivian Usherwood was a young poet who attended Hackney Downs School. He was born in Jamaica and moved to Hackney as a child. His book of poetry, Poems, written when he was 12 years old, was published by Centerprise in 1972. His book has sold over 10,000 copies. He wrote about the things around him that interested him and his feelings.
Four school students from Hackney Downs appear on BBC2 Saturday Night arts programme, Full House, December 1972. Philip Ramocon at piano, poets from left to right: Tom Murphy, Danny Morfett & Vivian Usherwood. Presenter Joe Melia sitting on platform. Photograph supplied by BBC to Ken Worpole.
Hackney by Vivian Usherwood
Why is Hackney called ‘Hackney’? �Why could it not be ‘Dirty’? �Its name stinks of steam and smoke.�How much longer do I have to live in this place? �Everybody wants to leave and try to forget about Hackney. ��But I can’t: �It’s groaning inside me�And that is why everybody smokes �To forget about it.�Everybody wants to leave and go to the country. �
© Vivian Usherwood 1972�
Patrice Lawrence
Patrice Lawrence was born in Sussex and brought up in an Italian-Trinidadian household. She moved to Hackney in 1997 and has been writing for as long as she can remember. Her first full-length novel for young adults Orangeboy, set in Hackney, was published in June 2016. Granny Ting Ting by Patrice Lawrence is a contemporary story about a young boy from London visiting his family in Trinidad, aimed at KS2 children.��She has said of the local area: � “Hackney is a gift to writers, a place of contrasts, with so many different types of people sharing the same space. Whether I’m walking by the River Lea, stuck in gridlock on the 242 bus or drinking coffee in the Eastern Curve Gardens, all around you, there are tales yelling to be told.”
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Courtesy of Patrice Lawrence
Granny Ting Ting
Granny Ting Ting - suggested discussion points
Throughout
New words (for example: papaya, cicadas, tamarind) - does anyone know what it is? If not, how can we find out?
What did you think of this chapter? Which words or phrases captured your imagination?
Chapter 1
Can you empathise with Shayla? Have you ever been really excited about something and then not known what to say? Can you empathise with Michael? Have you ever travelled a long way to spend time with family you haven’t met before?
Chapter 2
Why do you think it’s important that Granny tells Shayla stories about the past? What stories do you know from your family’s past?
Chapter 3
What has Michael learnt? What has Shayla learnt? Why do you think Michael and Shayla are being so competitive?
Granny Ting Ting - suggested discussion points
Chapter 4
What do you think about the trick that Michael played on Shayla? What do you think that she will do next?
Chapter 5
How did Shayla feel at the beginning of the chapter? How did she feel at the end? What did she do to make herself feel better? How did you feel by the end of the book?
Discuss
This is a work of fiction. What does that mean? Why do you think the author chose to set it in Trinidad? Which place that you’ve visited could you set a fictional story in?
Dennis Morris - photographer
Dennis Morris - post film discussion
Where did Dennis Morris come from?
What were his first impressions of Britain? What did he find hard to get used to about life in Hackney?
What hobbies did he have?
How did he turn his hobby into a job?
How is photography similar to other art forms that you know about? How is it different?
Pauline Wiltshire - writer (autobiography)
“In the beginning I was born in the home of a friend in Coleyville, Manchester, Jamaica on January 16th 1950. When I was young I noticed that I had a lot of problems with myself. One of the problems I noticed was that I couldn’t talk properly. I was about five or six years old when I found this out. For anyone to understand what I was saying it was a big effort for them and me”
© Pauline Wiltshire 1985
Pauline Wiltshire - writer (autobiography)
“When I finished school at 15 in Jamaica, I began to go to the library every day to practise reading and writing and help stamp the books and take the letters to the Post Office… There was just one librarian who was my school mate, even younger than me. I enjoyed being with her. We used to read books and tell stories… We used to take turns going out to get some lunch from the market. Things like ackee, green bananas, green vegetables and yams, sweet potatoes and Irish potatoes… For five years I went to the library every day Monday to Friday… I really enjoyed going to the library all those years”
© Pauline Wiltshire
Pauline Wiltshire - writer (autobiography)
“A lot of people in Jamaica think that people leave the place and come to England where everybody is well off and money is flowing or growing like the bananas they see on trees at home. They don’t quite realize that England has its bad times along with the rest of the world.”
© Pauline Wiltshire 1985
Pauline Wiltshire - writer (autobiography)
“Of course the greatest difference for me was that at home I was one of the majority, a black girl amongst very few whites. Although there are many black people where I live, I am still a black girl amongst mainly whites. I am not able to forget this as there are white people who imagine that my skin colour makes me inferior to them. Fortunately, many of the white people are very much against this attitude.”
© Pauline Wiltshire 1985
Questions to answer about the quotes
1. How do you know it’s an autobiography? What typical autobiographical features does it have?
2. Which section of an autobiography do you think it fits in with:
- Opening statement or introduction
- Early memories and influences
- Beliefs and values
3. Which word can they all agree on to sum up each section of Pauline’s story?
Starting your own autobiography
Write three paragraphs for your own autobiography:
Mix individual work with discussion in pairs – someone who doesn’t know your story might be able to help you to see what important information your paragraph is missing!
The Lenthall Road Workshop - community printing space
If we want to share an important message today, how do we do that? What about 30+ years ago in the 1980s, how do you think people share their messages then?
The Lenthall Road Workshop (1976-1990s) was a community space in Haggerston that supported local people to create their own prints to express themselves, develop their skills or print leaflets for wider distribution. In the early 1980s Ingrid Pollard, a Guyana-born British artist and photographer worked at the studio.
Courtesy of Chats Palace Archive whatischatspalace.wordpress.com
Courtesy of Chats Palace Archive whatischatspalace.wordpress.com
Design your own poster
In groups, work together to design a poster, inspired by the ones you’ve seen.
You’ll need to consider:
Draw a sketch first, then experiment with different ways of printing - could you use potatoes stamps? Or cardboard stamps?