From Inner Depths to Dewponds - Downs to the Sea Creative Water Day

From Inner Depths to Dewponds – Writing with M’Other Water with Razia Aziz

Water is the stuff of life and a symbol of purification and rebirth. Like life, it has deep and hidden dimensions: I call them M’Other water.

In this workshop, we will put a toe in ‘M’Other water’ - we will dip our quill in her ink - by engaging the senses, non-conceptual inner experiences, nature and imagination.

How could our species’ need for (and love of) water, and our respect for (and fear of) its power guide us into our own depths? Could we for a moment (or even a couple of hours), let go of the edge of the pool (or the dew pond) and allow ourselves to float upon (or be immersed) in the mystery of not knowing (or a dimly remembered promise of unbroken completeness)?

Could we, as writers, consider M’Other water’ s mystery, intrigue, playfulness and danger as our creative ally - an inspiration working at us simultaneously from within and without. Our organism and the living world around us, our ancient and contemporary cultures, dance in – and only because of – the existence of water. We cannot move, write, think or feel without chemical signals borne by water. We cannot sing, we cannot love.

In this workshop, we will play with, be curious about, interrogate the great water being – the hydrosphere – of which we are a part, and which also lives in and through us. From dewponds to tidal waves, from aquifers to tears, from the sweat on your lip to the brew in your cup, from the slippery mud up on the Downs to the surf on the beach, let them all speak – and let your mind, and your pen, roam free. Come and immerse yourself in the flow of Saraswati and the rain blessed soils of Saddlescombe and see what she has to say to you.

• This is an inclusive, participatory workshop for +18 adults welcoming BPOC folk, people of our LGBTQ+ and disability communities, creatives, supporters, friends, newcomers and all.
• No previous experience required.
• Unfortunately, dogs cannot be accommodated at this event.
• Refreshments and all materials will be provided.
  

The Learning Barn at Saddlescombe Farm has disabled access and a disabled toilet. Cars can pull up right outside the front door. There is loose gravel on a flat surface around the perimeter of the Learning Barn, which is accessible by wheelchair.

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Please let us know if you have any access needs we need to be aware of or for more information, by emailing YWNjZXNzIHwgd3JpdGluZ291cmxlZ2FjeSAhIG9yZyAhIHVr or aW5mbyB8IHdyaXRpbmdvdXJsZWdhY3kgISBvcmcgISB1aw==.

See our Access Policy for more info about how we can support.

A free accessible minibus will be available for up to 16 people from and to Brighton Station. Booking is required; book your seat when choosing your ticket.

Please contact Writing Our Legacy if you require fully wheelchair accessible transport at YWNjZXNzIHwgd3JpdGluZ291cmxlZ2FjeSAhIG9yZyAhIHVr

• Pick-up time: 12:30 am
• Drop off time: The minibus will drop off back at Brighton Station by 3:30 pm

Razia Aziz has a many ‘lives’: as a creative practitioner (word, song, music, performance); holistic coach, facilitator and organisational consultant; mother, partner & community builder. She has lived in or near the South Downs for over 30 years. Her most recent work includes Challé Gayé, a soundscape at the Chattri monument for the Witness Stand season at Brighton Festival 2022, with a recorded version created as part of the Dome Heritage Reveal project (2024)  https://brightondome.org/heritage-stories/heritage-stories-reveal/reveal-razia-aziz-chale-gaye-they-have-departed-died/;  Valley of Dreams/Wadi-e-Khwaab, a new myth of the Cuckmere Valley - of the We Hear You Now an audio trail in the Seven Sisters Country Park (2023)  https://soundcloud.com/alinah-azadeh/valley-of-dreams_razia-aziz_we-hear-you-now-series; the soundtrack to two film poems - Salt, Snow, Earth and Ways of Seeing Trees (2025) 

Razia’s work is rooted in her British South Asian Muslim/interfaith heritage and is deeply influenced by the landscape of the Downs. It seeks to voice the vital relationship between human narratives & ancestry and the living world of which we are a part. Razia has made three albums of music (western and Hindustani), composed original music for theatre and (co)/written and performed two plays. She co-hosts spaces for women to wander and wonder in nature and sit in community around a fire.

Downs to the Sea brings together a partnership comprising the South Downs National Park Trust, South Downs National Park Authority, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Western Sussex Rivers Trust (formerly known as Arun and Rother Rivers Trust), Brighton and Hove City Council, and Writing Our Legacy.

The partnership focuses on the two following strands:

• Water in the landscape, focused on restoring and improving vital wetlands, ponds and rivers, and increasing the landscape’s resilience to climate change and other threats;
• Water in people’s lives, focused on connecting people to natural heritage and the water in their lives, to benefit their health and wellbeing, to develop skills and knowledge, and to help protect precious freshwater resources that are vital to our communities.

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