Online Workshop: Sonnets and Short Poems with Jonathan Edwards
Wed 29 Jan 2025 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM GMT
Online, Zoom
Description
Short & sweet: sonnets and short poems
A number of competitions now have specialist categories for sonnets and short poems, or indeed focus a whole competition on poems of this length, and shorter poems remain an enduring form in magazine publication. In this workshop, we'll draw on a range of work by experts of the craft, like Hannah Lowe, Vidyan Ravinthiran, Amy Acre and Hugo Williams. We'll think through a range of approaches, from the traditional to the experimental, the metaphorical to the surreal, and we'll also explore some of the poems which win the prizes. A particularly famous sonneteer once wrote that brevity is the soul of wit and, while the poems we'll aim at in this session will be small, jewel-like and precise, we'll be aiming for enormity in impact, power and beauty.
About Jonathan Edwards
Jonathan Edwards’ first collection, My Family and Other Superheroes (Seren, 2014), received the Costa Poetry Award and the Wales Book of the Year People’s Choice Award. It was shortlisted for the Fenton Aldeburgh First Collection Prize. His second collection, Gen (Seren, 2018), also received the Wales Book of the Year People’s Choice Award, and in 2019 his poem about Newport Bridge was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem. He lives in Crosskeys, South Wales.
Zoom
These workshops will be conducted via Zoom. We have put together this simple 'How To' document to help you download Zoom, join a meeting, and navigate around the meeting features (such as adjusting video and audio, uploading files, and sharing screens).
You will receive a confirmation email from Ticket Tailor with your ticket and the Zoom invitation, containing the meeting link and Meeting ID & Password.
Someone from The Poetry Business team will be on hand prior to each workshop to offer additional help in getting connected.
There is usually a lot of interest in our workshops: in the interest of fairness, please limit yourself to one workshop ticket in every two week period.
Bursary Spaces
There are two bursary spaces available per workshop for writers from groups that are under-represented in contemporary poetry (for instance because of ethnic background) or who are experiencing financial hardship. If you would like to apply for one of these bursary places, please contact workshops@poetrybusiness.co.uk
Refunds
If you no longer wish to attend the workshop please let us know by emailing us. We ask for 3 working days' notice before the workshop starts in order to offer a full refund, and enable us to offer the place to someone else.
Though we will do all we can to help you get set up with the technology it is the participants' responsibility to ensure that their camera, microphone and other computer settings are configured correctly. Please contact us (workshops@poetrybusiness.co.uk) if you are concerned about getting set up for Zoom.