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Workshops, courses and newsletters are brilliant ways to develop your poetry and stay in the loop, so just thought I’d share a few I’ve completed and signed up for.
The Poetry School has an amazing program each term and I’m halfway through Myth, Magic and Monsters: Ancient Stories, New Truths with fabulous UK-based writer Catherine Smith. This fits perfectly with the poems I’m working on at the moment for my next book and I love Catherine’s work, her short story collection The Biting Point being one of my favourites.
Earlier this month I attended Sophie Mackintosh‘s Modern Fairy Tale and Speculation workshop facilitated by Red Room Poetry. Held in two parts online and aimed at writers rather than poets, the topic was too timely to pass up and generated many ideas. Another UK-based author, Sophie’s The Water Cure was nominated for the 2018 Man Booker Prize I have yet to read.
As for newsletters, I’ve recently signed up to Fly on the Wall‘s one, an indie press based in Manchester ran by Isabelle Kenyon, which is how I discovered the stunning work of Scottish poet Morag Anderson. These are sharp poems with sharp things to say – “concealed violence, love and everything in between” – leaving their teeth marks long after I’d finished them.
UK-based poets Clare Shaw and Kim Moore have started their own newsletter sharing process, thoughts and prompts to keep the conversation going. Science Write Now is also worth noting with a focus on science-inspired creative writing headed up by Australian-based writers Amanda Niehaus, Jessica White and Taylor Mitchell. Another favourite is Katrina Naomi‘s Short and Sweet that offers hints and tips and recommended reads, with Katrina’s next collection Battery Rocks due out soon.
Other workshops coming up include Pascale Petit‘s Into the Wild via The Poetry Business next week and Rules in the Poetry Game with Kate Potts on Cath Drake’s Verandah in July. I’m also planning a writing retreat at Island View Writers’ House in August offered by the fantastic Heather Taylor Johnson, more on that to follow.
J V Birch 