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Seniornorsk

HORDALAND
FYLKESKOMMUNE

A collection of translated texts

The county library of Hordaland, Norway, has funded a project dealing with verbal creativity among elderly people. Several writing courses, involving
more than 60 participants, ranging from 67 to 91 years, have resulted in
hundreds of texts: poems, short stories, essays, articles and orally told stories. Many of these are presented on  the internet at the cultural site of Hordaland county.  

These courses have been planned and led by four persons, who are all teachers, dedicated to the idea that creativity never dies, and that caring for elderly people also should include stimulation of creative abilities.

The experience so far is overwhelming:

-          Everyone has the ability to create texts that move and enthrall the reader.

-          Several say that the course has had a therapeutic effect.

-          They experience strengthened identity, when producing stories which have had a strong impact on them, and which they have seldom or never told before.

-          They show clearly increased abilities and increased confidence towards their own abilities.

-          The participants express that the courses have a positive impact on their everyday lives.

-          They tend to write more about the present and the future, rather than the past.

-          Some groups have continued meeting after the courses have ended.

In addition to the practical work, the project has an academic and a scientific
purpose. The experiences and results from the work will be studied in relation to theories from the fields of pedagogy, philosophy, gerontology and literature. The
group behind the project wants to create a pedagogy of aging, which emphasises its opportunities and possibilities.  

Here you can read a paper on our work:
"Aging and Verbal Creativity".

Some of the texts have been translated into English and are presented here.

Questions and comments may be sent to one of the four teachers involved in the project:

oddgeir.synnes@hordaland-f.kommune.no
 
Oddgeir Synnes, Hordaland fylkesbibliotek, Postboks 7900, 5020 Bergen - Norway.