Dear friend,
Welcome to 'THE WORD', a fortnightly newsletter celebrating the very essence of a writer's toolkit: words.
Today's word is...
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'Tranklements'
(dialect word of the Black Country/Yorkshire)
ornaments, trinkets, bits of things,
small possessions, bits and pieces, paraphernalia,
precious possessions
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How delicious!
It sounds like a tasty condiment, and in fact the word 'tracklement' (slight variance of spelling) was coined by the English cookery writer Dorothy Hartley in her book Food in England (published 1954) to describe "a savoury condiment served with meat".
According to the dialect dictionary however, even among cookery writers 'tracklement' appears only to be "an occasional relish to enliven prose".
Tasty though, isn't it? (And what a cracking description.)
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Although I didn't hear anyone use 'tranklements' (or tracklement) in conversation last week, while amidst the hills and valleys of West Yorkshire, I think the concept of its meaning relating to precious things, trinkets and paraphernalia, perfectly describes the thoughts and ideas my week at Lumb Bank inspired in me.
The course was the marriage of text/words through poetic forms with the art of book-making, and all attendees were asked to bring various craft supplies as well as personal ephemera and a book they'd be happy to 'mine for words' (aka chop to pieces).
I only took a small suitcase and it was stuffed full with pens, pencils, papers, poetry, saved brochures, postcards and more; the tranklements of my creative life.
I prioritised supplies over clothes, and then when I found and purchased numerous new tranklements on my trip - mostly in the thriving creative hub of Hebden Bridge - I was happy to sacrifice more belongings to ensure I could safely carry them home.
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My head has been a whirl of thoughts since I returned, and I've not fully processed everything I learnt and all the revelations I had; about both myself, my creative work and writing, and also how these multiple threads of myself link together.
(I might even say that my head was full of tranklements, each thread of thought a precious gift, every memory a colourful ornament, but then I hate overly flowery language and silly descriptions, so I probably won't even mention it.)
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***Creative Thinking Task***
What are YOUR 'tranklements'? Perhaps you have special trinkets adorning your writing desk; a special pen or pencil? Where did you buy it? What does it mean to you? What is the story that makes it precious?
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A tranklement of my trip (did I get away with that?) was being able to visit the grave of Sylvia Plath in nearby Heptonstall.
Emotional, special and poetic, I wrote about the experience of searching for her, including photographs of both the church/graveyard and the gardens at Lumb Bank.
I also wrote more on Krista Tippett (first mentioned in my newsletter featuring the word 'conduit'), and this time exploring thoughts/advice on 'Becoming Wise' (the title of her new book). It turns out the process of acquiring wisdom is as suspected, "the work of a lifetime". Sigh.
Thanks for reading. Remember to spread 'THE WORD' if you enjoyed this newsletter.
Yours (with precious relish)
Rebecca
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