Harry Laing

 HARRY LAING

Harry is an energetic and enthusiastic teacher who has worked with students of all ages and abilities (years 3-12) in many schools and colleges both as writer in residence and through individual workshops. In recent years he has combined twin passions for writing and the natural world and taken outdoor workshops under the banner of 'Writing On The Wild Side'. In November 2003 he was the writer involved in the Regeneration Project at the Canberra schools outdoor centre, Birrigai, where thirty students (Yrs 5-8) spent three days working on the regeneration theme just a few weeks after the centre had opened post the January 2003 fires.

Harry's aim in a writing workshop is to kick-start students' imagination. He has a full repertoire of games, prompts and exercises which enable the student to try out new forms of expression and discover what they really want to write. Students invariably end up writing at full tilt and are amazed by how much they can learn while having fun. In the course of a workshop Harry will also read poems and extracts from stories so students can hear what strong writing's all about. He encourages students to read out their own work. He has discovered over the years that all students, whatever their 'ability', have something to say and feels that his job is to give them the confidence to say it.

A teacher from one school where he was poet-in-residence for a week said, 'Harry presented a variety of his own poems with clarity and feeling before moving on to challenge the boys to write in a variety of accessible forms. A number of boys were surprised at the quality of their efforts and may well have been inspired to take up poetry as a regular activity ...'