CONNECTING COMMUNITIES
CHANGE THE WORD
Change the Word harnesses the power of poetry and performance to connect locals, refugees and newly arrived people. It forges new ways for communities to create and perform together, reimagining and shaping the towns, cities and world in which they want to live.
“People need food, people need water. But without poems, without music, people do not have life. That is why we need this, we need Change the Word, we need each other.”
— Mustafa, Change the Word Sheffield
The Projects
Change the Word Projects take place in cities and towns around the UK. Each project is open to all and brings together communities who may never otherwise meet - in particular people who have sought or are seeking sanctuary in the UK, and people who have lived here all their lives.
Through a series of workshops focusing first on the craft of poetry, then on performance, Change the Word creates a space where everyone is welcome to express themselves and hone their creative skills.
We host taster sessions to start co-creating each unique project from the very beginning, and work with members of our Change the Word Collective to develop and deliver the workshops. From a Welcome Meal at the start of a project, through food being shared at every session, Change the Word Projects create space for connections between people that last long beyond the project.
Every project builds towards a bold new poetry show, threading the words of every member together to be performed by the group in an unusual location in their city or town. Good Chance also publishes an anthology featuring work by every new poet, to be shared in independent bookshops and libraries across the region (and on the Good Chance Shop!)
The Collective
The Change the Word Collective is a group of poets from around the world, united by a love of words and by friendship: it is the legacy of our projects.
Anyone who has taken part in a Change the Word Project is welcome to join the Collective, a space for connection co-created by every member. Together we further build poetry craft through online sessions run by both members of the collective and guest poets, and publish the work of the Collective in anthologies. In addition, the Collective offers a wide range of opportunities including:
Change the Word Fellowships - six-month bespoke mentoring programmes with an acclaimed professional poet.
Bespoke writing projects - for example, Arvon creative writing residentials and Writing Life, a six-week programme of workshops run by writer Yara Rodrigues Fowler to prepare poets for showcasing their individual work to the world through publication or performance.
Development of future poetry shows and performances - for example, Tanisha Chopra & Landry Affton’s poetry films commissioned by Coventry City of Culture; performance as part of the international Migration Matters Festival.
Poetry publishing workshops & creative writing facilitation workshops in partnership with leading writing organisations including Exiled Writers Ink, Arvon, Poetry School.
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Coventry
March - June 2019
Change the Word premiered in Coventry in partnership with Coventry UK City of Culture, led by artist Laura Nyahuye and Good Chance Associate Artist Connie Treves. We presented our first ever poetry show as part of Good Chance’s Dome in a Day Festival, a day-long arts extravaganza in the city, and two poets commissioned to create poetry films for Refugee Week.Anthology: Change the Word
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Sheffield
October 2019 - February 2020
The Crucible Theatre was our home in partnership with Sheffield Theatres, with workshops led by Tchiyiwe Chihana and Connie Treves. We created a poetry film in the Crucible before performing as part of Good Chance’s FreeDome Festival in the city’s iconic Winter Garden and at Migration Matters Festival.Anthology: The Words We Carry
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Arvon 2020
March 2020 at The Hurst, Shropshire
12 poets from our Change the Word Projects took part in a unique week-long intensive writing residential in partnership with Arvon and the Crenham Award Fund, led by internationally renowned writers Malika Booker and Roger Robinson. -
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Poetry Fellowships
September 2020 - April 2021
Empowering the next generation of writers through transformative mentoring from acclaimed poets Malika Booker and Nii Ayikwei Parkes. Diyo Mulopo Bopengo and Sarah Orola were our first Poetry Fellows and have performed at the Museum of the Home, St James Piccadilly Festival and Migration Matters International Festival. -
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Barnsley
January - March 2021
Members of Barnsley Museum’s Feels Like Home group and others from Coventry, Sheffield, Bradford, Huddersfield, Wakefield and London met online led by Connie Treves, sharing their poetry through an interactive digital show and as part of The Walk with Little Amal.Anthology: From Barnsley and Beyond
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Writing Life
January - April 2021
A Change the Word programme of workshops run by writer Yara Rodrigues Fowler and Good Chance Artistic Associate Connie Treves to prepare poets for showcasing their individual work to the world through publication or performance.Watch this space for a new Writing Life project to be announced…
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Bradford
August - November 2022
In collaboration with Common Wealth Theatre and led by writer Sai Murray and theatre maker Saoirse Teale, our Bradford poets came together each week to write poetry, eat and spark ideas for an anthology and sold-out immersive poetry show at Displace Yourself Theatre.Anthology: Mud, Water and Magic
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Arvon 2023
June 2023 at The Hurst, Shropshire
12 poets from our Change the Word Projects took part in a unique week-long intensive writing residential in partnership with Arvon, supported by the Arts Council England and led by leading figures in the contemporary poetics scene: literary and sound artist Belinda Zhawi and performance poet Keith Jarrett.
Our Writers
From leading Change the Word Projects to collectively devising poems with people across the world, we’ve worked with…
Andrew McMillan · Belinda Zhawi · Helen Mort · Ian McMillan · Inua Ellams · Kate Clanchy · Keith Jarrett · Laura Nyahuye · Malika Booker · Nii Ayikwei Parkes · Nina Minghya Powles · Roger Robinson · Sai Murray · Saoirse Teale · Tchiyiwe Chihana · Yara Rodrigues Fowler · Warda Yassin
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COUNTRIES REPRESENTED
100+
AUDIENCE REACHED GLOBALLY
7,500+
NEW POETS FROM
AROUND THE WORLD
“Thank you for believing in us. Especially at these times, we need things like Good Chance to bring people together. We need people to understand that we are all human beings. Without you these poems would never have come out and I am so grateful, now we can share them with the world.”
- Landry, Change the Word poet
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Buy a Change the Word Book!
There are now SIX beautiful, bold, globe-spanning anthologies of poetry published by the Change the Word poets, all available to buy from our online shop.
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Play The Window Game
The Window Game has been played by members of the Good Chance Family all over the world! We invite you to look out your window and notice the little things. Write what you see, imagine, remember, dream…