Poems to Love, Sparks of Monthly Inspiration: 4 Aug, 1 Sept, 6 Oct 2026

Top up your poetry joy and craft with Poems to Love!

Close reading of poems, writing and discussion.  Relish the joy of poetry in these short small group meetings on Zoom on the first Tuesday of the month.  You'll receive a small bundle of poems from our poet of the month (sent in advance) that are exciting, arresting or just simply wonderful. 

We'll look at the nuts and bolts of how good poetry is made and why we like it, thinking about content, form, line breaks, voice, syntax and other stylistic aspects, as well as those sparks of vital inspiration. We've found it's been very rewarding to delve into the work of one poet a month and allow their work to ignite our own writing.

It's a simple format with two periods of close reading and discussion followed by two opportunities to write your own responses to the poems. These sessions are an hour and a quarter long, a shot in the arm for inspiration, professional development and most importantly, a reminder to keep expanding your reading joy, being inspired by great poems, new and old to enhance your craft and appreciation. ... one of the most enriching things to do in life I believe!

Just bring your love of poetry, words and ideas. Surely the joy, intimacy, compassion and daring of poetry is an antidote to the news and state of the world these days? 

I have a free and a 50% off bursary for those who really needs it - message me  https://www.tickettailor.com/promoter/help/link/cathdrakestheverandah 

Facilitator, Cath Drake is from Perth, Australia and has lived in London, UK for almost 25 years. Her poetry collection, The Shaking City (Seren Books, 2020) was longlisted in international Laurel Prize and highly commended in the UK Forward Prize. It followed Sleeping with Rivers, a Poetry Book Society Choice & winner of the Seren/Mslexia poetry prize. Cath has been published widely in anthologies and literary journals in UK, Ireland, US, Europe and Australia, recently including Best of Australian Poems, Poetry Salzburg Review and The Weekend Australian. She has twice been be awarded second place in the international Ginkgo Ecopoetry Prize and also highly commended in this prize. An environmental science graduate, Cath worked for a decade as an environmental scientist, writer and journalist and won awards for her environmental nonfiction writing and broadcasting. Cath is also a mindfulness teacher and she has run The Verandah, quality online poetry events, since 2020.

1hour and 15mins long - First Tuesday of the month

Start time: 10am UK time // 5pm Perth Australia // 6.30pm Adelaide // 6.30 Darwin // 7pm Brisbane // 7pm Sydney, AEST // 9pm NZ

Online on Zoom

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/

A very affordale cost £37 GBP (with cost effective exchange via STRIPE) for all three or £17 GBP for one workshop.  

Zoom link and materials will be sent by email at least 2 days prior. If you don’t receive the email get in touch with me.

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