practical living
Words from the wise
New program makes literary critics of aged care residents .
By Conor Burke
Chelsea Dynan writes among the
fruit trees on her plot of land in
Gembrook , Victoria . It ’ s a place you can switch off and where , hopefully , the words will flow .
It ’ s in that idyllic spot that I imagine Chelsea came up with the idea for Pages for Wisdom .
The program aims to connect budding writers with older people accessing aged care services Australia wide . By offering to read unpublished writing residents become editor , critic and confidante for writers who need a sounding board .
The ultimate goal is to foster a relationship with the older population , especially as they have often been cut off from the wider community during the pandemic .
Chelsea is a psychologist in her day job , and has some experience working with aged and palliative care , and she has a professional understanding of the mental hardships older people face .
As she initially explored the idea of sending her own work through to aged care homes , she heard that many homes removed all of their books as COVID restrictions came into force , and so Pages for Wisdom was born .
24 agedcareinsite . com . au
“ The first facility I contacted spoke about the impact of COVID on their services … They had no resources for the residents to read anything . I asked if something of this nature would interest them , and they were just absolutely over the moon with the idea .
“ It was new pieces of writing ; it was something that their residents hadn ’ t previously read or seen before . Then it also gave a bit more purpose and meaning to their role in the relationship . They were honestly really excited about it .”
Chelsea set about searching for hungry writers who yearned for feedback , or in some cases just liked the idea of offering up their work for a good cause .
“ It was actually about doing something where those in aged care played an active role ,” Chelsea says .
Camilla Hullick is one of the writers Chelsea has recruited . In between pulling down fences or looking after the cattle or any number of other farm work she tries to grab some time to journal out on the veranda at her farm in Middle Tarwin , South Gippsland .
Writing is therapeutic for Camilla and as someone who used to be a nurse with experience in aged care , Pages for Wisdom ticks a lot of boxes .
“ Writing is kind of my happy place . But it ’ s always about my own experiences and I think that ’ s best for me because then I can put the emotion behind it as well , because I lived it ,” Camilla says .
“ When I saw Pages for Wisdom , I thought my stories would be great for the elderly , because a lot of them have gone through the same thing and they ’ re just always uplifting .
“ As much as I love the feedback , I just want to make these people happy , but of course , as soon as the feedback does come in , I get really excited because I ’ m dying to see what they say .”
The feedback can be varied and is very much the essence of art criticism .
Many urge the writers to keep writing . Some say the work evokes memories of times gone by , while others say the work they read has helped them get in touch with their feelings .
“ It ’ s good to read feelings we may feel but don ’ t want to talk about . A simple and enjoyable read that left me smiling ,” says one reader .
Some of the critics ’ responses highlight why a program such as this provides a much needed service for aged care recipients .
“ The true feeling , felt by so many of us , caged like an animal not able to even hug our loved ones , but trying to accept what we can do if only in a small way ,” one resident of an aged care home wrote .
“ It was really interesting . That particular one was a comment on a poem that was written by one of our writers that was obviously very much about COVID ,” says Chelsea .
“ It was quite interesting to have someone else ’ s perspective on the experience , as well . For them being locked up the way they are , it ’ s very different to us . I think it ’ s quite eye-opening to read feedback like that .”
Pages for Wisdom has recently partnered with Meaningful Ageing Australia and is being delivered exclusively to their members Australia-wide .
“ I ’ m actually wanting to raise start-up funds to become registered as a not-forprofit organisation . That would allow us then to apply for grants and additional funding .
“ I would love to see us be able to provide Kindles and iPads to facilities ,” she says .
Ultimately Chelsea says she wants to expand Pages for Wisdom to become a not-for-profit publishing house that services vulnerable communities Australia wide . Not just the ageing sector , but also youth mental health , the disability sector , or any disadvantaged groups that may benefit . ■