Scarborough woman to raise money for earthquake victims with poetry

It's to help those in Turkey and Syria

Author: Karen LiuPublished 10th Feb 2023

A woman from Scarborough is set to try and raise money for the Turkey-Syria earthquake victims.

Jayne Shipley is organising a 'poems of hope' event next month at Woodend Gallery and people are being urged to attend.

She said: "Like most people when you watch the news you can feel a little bit overwhelmed with what's happening in Turkey and Syria. We've got choices to sit and watch the news, feel a bit desperate and not do anything or to sort of try and do something.

"We're hoping to raise a couple of hundred pounds and it's a drop in the ocean of what actually Turkey and Syria need right now but it's more than about raising money actually, it's about just making sure that as the news moves on, which it will do very quickly, that we keep some momentum and that we keep people of Turkey and Syria in our thoughts.

"I think there's a lot of power in poetry so when people are feeling overwhelmed by the sadness of things that are happening, I feel like poetry is the one where you're coming together and collective being together and feeling supported in anguish and things like that.

"We have in Scarborough and across North Yorkshire families from Syria and Turkey living here, so anything little that we can do. It's about raising money but it's standing up with people and saying 'we might be hundreds of miles away but we care about what you're going through and you're in our thoughts' and that's deeply important I think."

The event is going to be at Woodend Gallery on The Crescent in Scarborough on Saturday 4th March. It will feature Sarah Wimbush, Charlotte Oliver, Carole Bromley and Antony Dunn.

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