Show me the Funny!

From wry smiles to belly laughs, we all love poems which amuse us. In this playful workshop we’ll investigate the art of the comic poem, because it takes work to make something witty, deadpan or downright silly. With example poems by writers including Tony Hoagland, Wendy Cope, Dorothy Parker and Frank O’Hara, we’ll look at some of the different comic approaches available to us, and we’ll try some writing prompts to find our own funny.

About Kathryn Simmonds

Kathryn Simmonds’s third poetry collection, Scenes from Life on Earth, is published by Salt. Her poems have appeared in various publications including Poetry, The Guardian, The New Statesman, The Poetry Review and The Irish Times and, along with her short stories, have been broadcast on BBC radio. She also writes picture books: Trouble at the Bug Hotel (illustrated by Tor Freeman) is newly published by Walker Books. She lives in Norwich with her family.

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.