Poetry in Motion Masterclass (North Coast)

Participants will be invited to choose two of four two hour masterclasses focused on writing and presenting poetry. Book early to avoid disappointment as places are free but extremely limited.

Please FILL IN THE FORM to book your place. Indicating your workshop preferences in descending order. We will do our best to ensure participants get to attend their first and second choice workshops.

BOOK EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT

Workshop 1: Against Abstraction (with Stephen Sexton)

“No ideas but in things” said William Carlos Williams, for whom ‘things’ were white chickens, red wheelbarrows and sweet, cold plums. In this workshop, we will discuss the value of writing about ‘things’ over abstractions. Guided by the examples of some contemporary poets, we will consider the ways in which ‘things’ allow us to make images, and how too much abstraction can make a poem dull.

Workshop 2: A Beginners Guide to Surviving as a Writer (with Jan Carson)

Join local novelist and short story writer, Jan Carson for a masterclass in showcasing your writing and increasing your profile as a writer. This three hour interactive workshop will cover useful topics such as how to get your manuscript published, finding the write agent, securing readings and festival bookings, increasing your online presence and knowing when to turn work down. With plenty of opportunity to ask questions and network with other writers, this evening should leave you with some practical tips on how to increase your confidence and profile as a working writer. All attendees are asked to bring paper, pen and a short piece of their writing along to the workshop.

Workshop 3: Poetry, Metaphor and the Natural World (with Moyra Donaldson)

Poets have always been inspired by nature, and whether we live in the countryside or in a city, the natural world is part of our vision - it might be the weather, a spider in the bath, a mountain range or a sunset over the rooftops. This workshop will look at examples of classic and contemporary nature poems, and participants will then work on developing their own poem in the spirit of this long tradition.

Workshop 4: Sounding Lines (with Emma Must)

This workshop will combine theory and practice to help you develop how your poems sound – lifting them off the page and into the ear of the reader, or listener. Drawing on ideas proposed by the poet Don Paterson, we will analyse some contemporary poems that use sound particularly beautifully then you will be guided step by step to write a new sound-rich poem of your own.