ABSTRACT
The “white horses” experience was developed by Liz and used as a kind of transitional object with her students. Liz uses fiction and literature to facilitate deeper forms of playing among them, in ways that mirror her own experience, both in the past and also the present. After the first interview, Liz was excited by the process and voluntarily added a written response, which eventually, as will be seen, became an important part of a classroom exercise with her students. The biographical narrative interview method itself encouraged in Liz a growing awareness of the potential use of auto/biographical material in the classroom. Winnicott’s understanding of the importance of relationship in playing—and the risk-taking this involves—has helped the author understand Liz’s narrative. Liz’s biographical narrative material is located against the troubled cultural background of Dover. This is an ancient town, known as the “Gateway to England”, with its symbolic white cliffs.
