Poet to use the words of dementia patients in her next collection

A writer from London is using the words of dementia patients in a series of poems.

Susanna Howards regularly visits people with the condition and sits with them, jotting down anything they utter before working them into her poetry collection Living Words.

Speaking to the Independent, she said the results are emotional and poignant and at times they also reveal issues with the care system.

"So many people are saying they want to be cared for and how to be cared for, that they are not listened to, that they are not heard. They are saying ‘this is what I want. This is what I need’," she explained.

She added that just because a person has dementia does not mean they do not have a "wealth of words" inside them.

Miss Howard, whose work has received financial support from the Arts Council, will unveil her completed poems at Europe House in London on April 9th.

Read more about Barchester's dementia care homes