Swedish poet visits Anglesey for Benching Project

Sarah Persson

Swedish poet Louise Halvardsson visited Wales this February to continue with her poetry project ‘Benching’.

Louise began the ‘Benching’ project to mark her 40^th birthday as a protest against a society that was so focussed on ‘being productive’.

Louise explained that ‘benching started as a way to recover from stress and becoming close to burn out. When I turned 40 I sat on a bench for 40 minutes 40 days in a row in Berlin and found it life-changing. Benching is my way of coping with life, a way to have a time out and “do nothing” (I mean literally, not even drinking water or chewing gum).’

Rules and Rewards

The premise of the project is to find a park bench, sit on the bench for 40 days in a row and make every sitting exactly 40 minutes.  The participant sits in the same place at the same time every day, regardless of weather. You must sit in silence, unless someone you don’t know approaches you and talks to you,  then you’re allowed to talk back.  However, if someone you know wants to visit the bench, they also need to sit still and in silence.

Louise also finds the process restorative, describing how ‘I often feel I’ve got more time after a bench session; I’ve refreshed my mind and feel calm in my body. It’s good to know that you don’t have to be productive all the time, so I try to do some benching whenever I can.’

History and benches

Louise visited Anglesey and the old mining site in Llanberis on the recommendation of a friend.  ‘I loved it!’ says Louise about Anglesey, explaining that there was ‘so much history’ and ‘the story of the druids and their bards fascinated me. I saw a stone circle in Beaumaris that the druids apparently used to declare their poetry.’

‘I get anxious about birthdays and find it stressful to organise a party or even a dinner or drinks with close friends. So every year around my birthday I go away, ideally to a place I haven’t been before. It’s kind of a performance. Sometimes I go alone, sometimes with friends. This year a friend of mine who lives in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire suggested Anglesey as a destination.’

Though Louise didn’t count how many benches she visited in Anglesey, she believed it be at least ten.  ‘There were so many good spots. Beaumaris had some nice benches on the seafront.’  Louise has taken notes for poems to write, as well as writing a diary about her visit.

 Working up the minutes

For each birthday, Louise now increases the time she spends on the bench based on her age: so for this year, she sits for 43 minutes.  ‘My friend and I went for a hike on a very windy and rainy day and happened upon a bench in the hills of Holyhead with a magical view of the sea, and I just had to do some benching. However, I didn’t do a full 40 minutes on that particular bench. On my actual birthday I was back in Hebden Bridge and did 43 minutes sitting as I turned 43.’

An international project

Louise shared her project last summer at Tranås Fringe Festival in Sweden (a festival with links to Write4Word in Carmarthen) when she was in residency there.

Sharing her bench were people around the world including Canada, Wales and Sweden, they all wrote afterwards in a café and shared their stories and poetry.

To follow Louise’s project, you can find her on instagram @lou_halvardsson,

or facebook https://www.facebook.com/louisehalvardssonofficial

www.louisehalvardsson.com