BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:Europe/London X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London BEGIN:VEVENT UID:202@discoverburnley.co.uk DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20240321T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20240321T220000 DTSTAMP:20240307T204714Z URL:https://discoverburnley.co.uk/whatson/spoken-word-night-book-launch/ SUMMARY:Spoken Word Night & Book Launch DESCRIPTION:Join us at Down Town (above New Look in Charter Walk) for an ev ening of Spoken Word\, Poetry\, Storytelling and Music to celebrate the la unch of Burnley writer Mark Gornall's first book 'One Day At A Time.'\n\nR alph Dartford will compare the evening\, and we have 8 local artists perfo rming.\n\nThere'll be a selection of hot food and a chance to buy books.\n \nThis event is supported by the 'Mechanics Theatre Presents' project\, Bu rnley Together\, Calico Homes\, Red Rose Recovery and BRIC.\n\nTickets are free to attend\, but please book in advance (so we know how much pie to b ake!). Donations on the evening are welcomed but not compulsory.\n\n \ ;\n\nEventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/spoken-word-night-and -book-launch-for-mark-gornalls-one-day-at-a-time-tickets-845910700677?aff= oddtdtcreator\n\nMark’s story so far\n\nAfter a long journey away from a lcohol addiction with the help of Acorn Recovery Projects\, Mark has recen tly celebrated his one year sobriety milestone and is currently enjoying h is life being ‘clean and serene’.Mark said: “It’s stuck this time because I have a purpose in life\; myself\, my family\, my friends and sup porting other people who are going through what I’m going through”.\n\ nAlthough the 58-year-old had a tricky time during his recovery\, his disc overy of creative writing during treatment provided a vital outlet for his past thoughts and feelings. Although Mark hadn’t read or wrote since le aving high school over 40 years earlier\, he dove into the tasks set durin g his 12-week stay\, which led to his discovery of poetry.\n\nMark continu ed: “It was an emotional time during recovery. Turning moments into poet ry took the power out of them and made room in my mind for better things ”. After graduating from Acorn\, Mark continued to write poetry – and now uses his words to help others in addiction…\n\nOne Day at a Time\n\n Many who are in recovery will relate to the concept of taking it one day a t a time. Recovery is a life-long journey\, and everyone has their own way unique way of motivating themselves to stay sober. Mark chose words. Once he’d started his ever-expanding collection of poetry\, his focus turned to getting his work out there to help others in the same situation. To do this\, Mark applied for a grant from Red Rose Recovery\, who ended up giv ing him funding to buy a PC and printer to make his poetry publishing drea ms possible.“I wasn’t even PC literate at the start. Now I’ve not on ly designed and edited my book\, but I’ve also helped other people do th eirs too”\, Mark stated.\n\nUsing the writing skills learned from reflec tive journaling during recovery and the PC provided by Red Rose Recovery\, Mark compiled his poems into his very first book. ‘One Day at a Time’ isn’t just a story of Mark’s life either – it’s a collaboration o f stories from others in recovery\, which came to fruition with thanks to Facebook. Mark set up his own group on Facebook as a community space for o thers to collaborate and communicate. ‘Creative Writing in Recovery’ h as given Mark a platform to get stories from up and down the country\, rec eiving submissions from Preston\, Huddersfield\, and Newcastle to name a f ew. Mark said: “This book isn’t about me. It’s people’s stories\, poems\, and personal letters to make people aware of how writing can help recovery.” Many of the poets from his book are joining open mic night – and some will even be taking to the stage to share their talents with Burnley.\n\nThe proceeds from One Day at a Time are being donated to Casua l Minds Matter. You can download an e-book or order a copy at creativewrit ingforrecovery.com.\n\nSpecial thanks to Burnley Together\n\nMark has been a regular face at Down Town for years. In fact\, he even used to voluntee r when it was still known as BFC in the Community. Like many others\, Mark has enjoyed the consistent support of Down Town and now gives back as a r egular visitor. Mark said: “Down Town was the starting point for me. It got me back in the community when I needed it most. They offer great suppo rt and advice.”I love coming back to say thank you for everything they ’ve done for me. I always speak to the staff\, they’re great and alway s support my creative writing.”\n\nMark is also putting on his event-org aniser hat\, helping the staff at Down Town organise the open mic night an d ensure the whole evening is a roaring success. He continued: “It’s n ot just a food bank and café. It’s a community hub. People who are stru ggling know there’s always a place to go and feel welcome – it’s an amazing place to be. The coffee and butties are great too!”.\n\nBeyond o pen mic night\n\nIn the future\, Mark is looking to get funding to open a book stall on Burnley’s Artisan Market\, which will give him a place to not only sell books\, but to get together in the community. The stall will sell books from other writers he’s helped publish\, creating a platform to build creativity and share valuable stories within the recovery commun ity.He concluded: “One person came up to me and really thanked me. She s aid she totally connected with my poems and stories because she was in the same position. It’s always nice knowing I can help other people who are on the same journey.”If something good or bad happens\, write it down. When you share something\, it becomes even more powerful” ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://discoverburnley.co.uk/wp-content/uploads /2024/02/Mark-Spoken-Word-Night-1500-x-1500-px.png CATEGORIES:Burnley Town Centre,Community,Free To Attend,Theatre and Culture LOCATION:Down Town Kitchen &\; Cafe (above New Look)\, Charter Walk Shop ping Centre\, \, Burnley\, BB11 1QJ\, United Kingdom GEO:53.789919;-2.243323 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Charter Walk Shopping Centr e\, \, Burnley\, BB11 1QJ\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Down Town Kitchen & Cafe (above New Look):geo:53.789919,-2.243323 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/London BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20231029T010000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR