ONLINE WORKSHOPS NOVEMBER 13th - 15th
Workshop 1 - Heidi Williamson W1
FRIDAY 10:00 - 11:30am £15
Online
Landscape and Memory
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‘Landscape is the work of the mind. Its scenery is built up as much from strata of memory as from layers of rock' (Simon Schama, Landscape and Memory). Whether rural, urban, imagined, current or historical, landscape stimulates strong feelings and memories. Join us to look at some contemporary poetic landscapes to inspire new work.
Workshop 2 - Sue Burge W2
FRIDAY 10:00 - 11:30am £15
Online
Water, Water, Everywhere
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An opportunity to explore your relationship with all things watery. This workshop will focus on all forms of water from puddles to lakes, raindrops to waves. There’ll be wrecks and devil dogs and ways of diving deep in order to emerge with fresh and original poetic responses to these innovative prompts.
Workshop 3 - Mina Gorji W3
FRIDAY 1:15 - 2:45pm £15
Online
Listening into Poetry
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When did you last tune in to the sounds of the natural world? When did you last listen, really listen, to the patter of rain, or the sound of the wind through empty branches, or to a blackbird singing? How can a poem convey this experience in words? Together, we will listen, and find ways to describe our listening. We will explore the ways in which poets such as John Clare, Alice Oswald, Seamus Heaney and Séan Hewitt convey the experience of listening. Inspired by their techniques, and by the sounds around us, we will write our own listening poems.
Workshop 4 - Katherine Stansfield W4
FRIDAY 1:15 - 2:45pm £15
Online
Travelling the Strange Places of Poetry
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This workshop will focus on the unusual places that poetry can transport us to, and how poetry itself is an ‘unusual’ place to inhabit in terms of language and perspective. We will discuss the strategies of example poems and respond to linked writing prompts, leading us to some much-needed travel in this time of stasis.
Workshop 5 - Katrina Naomi W5
SATURDAY 10:00 - 11:30am £15
Online
Playing with Place
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We'll be travelling on the page, thinking about indoors and out, noseying about. We’ll find new ways of writing about next door as well as those places we’ve yet to visit. I’ll be bringing along poems by Hannah Lowe, Roger Robinson, Tomas Tranströmer and Hirata Toshiko.
Workshop 6 - Carole Bromley W6
SATURDAY 10:00 - 11:30am £15
Online
Writing for Children
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On the festival theme of ‘play’ why not have fun experimenting with writing poems for children? Beginners and more experienced children’s poets equally welcome. Just bring bags of enthusiasm!
Workshop 7 - Maria Isakova Bennett W7
SATURDAY 1:15 - 2:45pm £15
Online
Listening to the Coast
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Would you like to visit the coast, listen to its wisdom, and feel inspired to write? Wherever you find yourself late 2020, I’ll bring the coast to you through photography, film, poetry, and artwork. Responding to prompts, you will take away at least three drafts of new work.
Workshop 8 - Arji Manuelpillai W8
SATURDAY 1:15 - 2:45pm £15
Online
Putting the Play in Poetry
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There is nothing more playful than poetry. Let's play a series of word games designed to make you think differently, take risks and, most importantly, have some serious FUN! We’ll get going with a number of new poems.
Workshop 9 - Ali Lewis W9
SUNDAY 10:00 - 11:30am £15
Online
All Work and All Play
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In this workshop, we’ll look at the poetry of work and the work of poetry. We’ll read and write poems about labour and leisure, then, with the help of some brilliant ars poeticas, explore whether poetry itself is work or play, and the ethical and artistic implications of that decision.
Workshop 10 - Miriam Nash W10
SUNDAY 10:00 - 11:30am £15
Online
Playing with Myth
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Craft new poems from the myths of your families, cultures or daily lives in this workshop of ancient and contemporary lore, guided by poems from around the world.
Workshop 11 - Cheryl Moskowitz and Alastair Gavin W11
SUNDAY 1:15 - 2:45pm £15
Online
[Inter]play: words and sound
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Following on from their Friday festival performance, the creators of The All Saints Sessions explore matching the language of poetry with sound – both musical and ‘field recordings’ of everyday sounds and places – discussing their practice and setting practical exercises. Bring pen, paper and, if possible, a mobile device and headphones and we will write poems in response to music.
Workshop 12 - Julia Bird and Mike Sims W12
SUNDAY 1:15 - 2:45pm £15
Online
Follow Your Own Paper Trail
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The artwork reproduction postcard is a common new poem prompt, but what about writing poems inspired by cereal gifts? Or sports catalogues? Or thirty-year old school homework? Mike Sims and Julia Bird offer you a range of unusual poetry prompts, inspired by their writing project and resultant artists' book Paper Trail. You'll gather some good drafts from strange places over this playful 90-minute workshop.