John Scaife
Fathers: Who Needs Them?
Where did all the fathers go? Even the ones we had seem frequently to fall short of what we want from them. We will explore what Robert Bly, protest poet and men’s work leader, called ‘the Father Gap’ using poetry and in groups, small and large. How does this show up in our lives and wider world. And what kind of fathering do we dream for the children in our lives, now or in the future.
Bio
John Scaife MA Cantab was lucky enough to stumble upon the nascent mytho-poetic men’s movement 30 years ago, learning from Robert Bly, Michael Meade, Malidoma Some, Robert Moore, James Hillman and Martin Prechtel. He went on to study extensively with Pretchtel and Some, developing his own deep sense of ritual and the sacred, which he has sought to weave with traditions here, tapping into his skills as storyteller, writer and life coach. He is now exploring how to create ‘life stage marking’ events. Most recently he has worked with Annie Spencer creating Earth Song, a rites of passage for young women, and is leading communal grief rituals.
He coaches and mentors young adults and those seeking to bring climate and sustainability concerns into the workplace.
A sportsman and lover of the outdoors, as often as possible in his native Northumberland, he is also very aware, from over 35 years in banking and business, of the need to ground these learnings in the practicalities of the day to day world we live in.
