Thesis title:
Putting Neurodivergence into Words: How play-based writing and performance practices can aid in the creation of �ADHD-Fuelled� Poetry
Sandy Wardrop is a poet, performer, and educator based in the East Midlands.
A self proclaimed ‘M.A.D. Scientist of Words‘, Sandy is proud to ‘Make Art Differently’. He specialises in experimental poetry, often colliding puzzles and games to create interactive work for young people and neurodivergent adults. As well as having won multiple poetry slams across the UK and created interactive workshops for all ages, his maze poem ‘It’s Safe Here‘ went viral in 2019, gaining 16,000+ shares across the UK, USA, Australia and the Philippines.
Sandy holds an MA in Stand-Up Comedy from the University of Kent which he combines with his professional poetry experience (as well as experience in ancillary artistic practices such as improvisational comedy, professional wrestling and tabletop game design) to pursue this practice-research PhD at DeMontfort University, Leicester.
In his research proposal, Sandy says: “Implicit relationships exist between neurodivergence and ludic writing concepts. Experimental literary collective OuLiPo exemplify this, writing exclusively via games called ‘constraints’. Neurodivergent writer Daniel Levin Becker describes ‘Oulipians’ as “the incurably afflicted” (Levin Becker, 2012, 14) and their creations as akin to “the puzzles page of the Sunday newspaper” (ibid, 106). With ADHD characterised as neurological dysfunction in regulating dopamine (Brown, 2013) and dopamine stimulation considered critical to game design (Hodent, 2013), I contend that ludicity in poetry writing/performance may not only uniquely attract people with ADHD but also enhance understanding of neurodiversity.”
With this in mind, the key focus of Sandy’s practice-research will be creating play-based ‘ADHD-Fuelled Poetry’ writing exercises, experimenting with how poems can be presented as games (partly in an effort to improve ADHD accessibility, partly because he thinks it will be fun) and investigating how these processes might help better facilitate understanding of ADHD and serve as a vehicle for its advocacy.
Research Area
