Dead Whale At Dawlish
“This poetry film is based on my own poem which is told from the point of view of a ten-year-old who is fascinated by the corpse of a fin whale that washes up on a Devon beach. She goes for several days with her Uncle Kenny to watch it being dismembered.
On a flight back from a storytelling tour of Thailand I saw a newspaper article about a dead whale washed up on a Devon beach near where I live. The next day I drove to Dawlish and took some footage of what was happening to the carcass. Several children were watching with their relatives and I overheard some of their comments which I turned into the poem. Later, when I started an online poetry film course with Helen Dewberry I realised I had all of the material at hand needed to make this piece.
I am a storyteller, poet and songster who is constantly creating and perpetually on tour. As well as performing in nursery schools, prisons, zoos and care homes, I've sung songs on TV in New York City, shared stories in Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, and spouted poetry at Number 10 Downing Street. I've recently become enthused with poetry film and relish the possibilities of what I might conjure up next.”
Clive PiG