One of my favourite poems: Originally by Carol Anne Duffy

Poetry is not just about rhyming words or stringing together pretty phrases. It has the power to touch our hearts, inspire change and promote understanding. And when it comes to teaching values and citizenship, poetry can be an incredibly effective tool.

Dame Carol Ann Duffy, Britain’s Poet Laureate from 2009 to 2019, is the first woman, the first Scot, and the first openly gay or bisexual poet to hold the position. In her autobiographical poem, ‘Originally’, Duffy considers and explores the sense of isolation and confusion she felt as a child when her family moved from Scotland to England. She describes both the literal details of the journey as well as the deeper, metaphorical journey that she and her family experienced as a result of this decision. This poem is a powerful exploration of the experience of emigration and the sense of displacement that can come with it. Through vivid imagery and evocative language, Duffy captures the complex emotions that arise when we leave our familiar surroundings behind and venture into the unknown.

The initial catalyst for the poem, the memories of the move and her gradual assimilation into her new home, provokes a more philosophical meditation on the subject of childhood itself. Perhaps the most significant line in the poem comes at the start of stanza two when she asserts that All childhood is an emigration, revealing clearly the universal truth that the process of growing up is always synonymous with change.

Through a variety of activities, students can explore themes such as childhood nostalgia and emigration in an interactive and meaningful way, giving them a deeper understanding of the poem’s message and the complex emotions that can come with leaving one’s homeland and the challenges of adjusting to a new culture.

The poem can be found in The Other Country (Anvil, 1990) and online on https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/originally/ 

Whether a particular poem translates the human ephemeral phenomenological experience in general into words, or translates the experience of one group of people to another, one thing is for certain: poetry isn’t going away anytime soon. Like society itself, it is likely that the role of poetry will be forever-changing, adapting itself to the needs of society as poets see fit, and as the human experience necessitates.

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