Writing & Editing Prize-winning Sonnets with Hannah Lowe 30/6/26 - new date

We will discuss the elements that make a sonnet work, and explore influences and examples through close reading of some of Hannah Lowe's favourite sonnets. The session includes practical writing exercises, giving attendees the chance to experiment with sonnet-inspired poems. 

This is a unique sonnet workshop with a difference. Prize-winning poet, Hannah Lowe will offer an exploration of how she developed some of her own sonnets, including poems from her collection The Kids (winner of the Costa Book of the Year, shortlisted for the TS Eliot prize, Poetry Book Society Choice). Hannah will generously explore how she conceived and developed her drafts toward finished pieces. There will be plenty of time for questions and discussion.

'Sonnet' is from the Italian sonetto meaning 'little song'. It has also been described as a little room, a contained and concentrated space to focus on a single subject, thought or idea. The form can really help a poet to focus and condense their writing into a powerful core. It's one of the oldest and most enduring poetic forms, typically 14 lines.

Due to an emergency we've had to move this workshop to 30th June - thanks for your patience (you will have an email about this if you enrolled for 19th May)

Hannah Lowe is a poet, memoirist and academic. Her last book, The Kids (2021), won the Costa Poetry Award and the Costa Book of the Year, 2021. Her forthcoming bookis The Woman in the Chinese Collar (2027). Her first poetry collection, Chick (2013), won the Michael Murphy Memorial Award for Best First Collection. In September 2014, she was named as one of 20 Next Generation poets. Her family memoir Long Time, No See (2015) featured as Radio 4’s Book of the Week. She is a Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University.

2.5 hours long

Start time: 10am UK time // 5pm Perth, Australia // 6.30pm Adelaide // 6.30 Darwin // 7pm Brisbane // 7pm Sydney, AEST // 9pm NZ //  11am South Africa & Berlin & Paris

Online on Zoom -   The Zoom link and  joining materials will be sent by email at least 2 days prior. If you don’t receive it get in touch with me.

Cost £30 GBP (with cost effective exchange via STRIPE)

Waiting list - If live workshops places have sold out, please contact me directly here: https://www.tickettailor.com/promoter/help/link/cathdrakestheverandah if you'd like to be included on a waiting list for the live workshops. Don't forget to include the name of the workshop or use the dropdown list.

Times on the homepage of this site are in London, UK Timezone, but when you add the event to your calendar it should be correct for your local time zone. You can check your timezone against London UK time here: https://greenwichmeantime.com/time-gadgets/time-zone-converter/

More events here https://www.cathdrake.com

This event will be recorded. Our workshops are intended as live and interactive. However, there are a small number of tickets for those keen to come who cannot make the date of this workshop that are 'recording only' tickets to be purchased in advance ONLY for those who can't make the date. If you buy a live ticket and don't turn up on the day, you can't access the recording – sorry, it's not a fall back. You can buy a live OR recorded ticket. This is because we primarily want poets to come and participate in live workshops. 'Recording only' tickets allow access to listen to a recording of the workshop during the 2 weeks following the workshop. (Note that we may share the recording at a future time to new participants.)