Finding and expressing joy, contentment & happiness in our work through divinations of the everyday

In this workshop, we are going to consider the value of expressing joy, contentment and happiness in our creative writing practice. Happiness can seem elusive, and in our contemporary age, with so many issues and atrocities in the world, increasingly we ask ourselves, have we a right to happiness? Many of us suffer guilt - ought I be happy? How can I be happy with so much tragedy in the world? Do I deserve happiness? Are we too conscious of its fleeting nature? How might we find our way into happiness writing? Can a route to contentment (temporary or otherwise) be found in the shifting of the self from the personal to impersonal: a move from inward-gazing to focusing on an object or subject which fascinates us?

Join our expert poetry tutor Jane Burn as she helps you put pen to paper in a 90-minute session filled with inspiring discussion and writing exercises.

About Jane Burn

Jane Burn is an award-winning poet, artist, poet and hybrid writer. She is a working-class person with autism. Her work is widely published and anthologised. Her current collection, The Apothecary of Flight, is published by Nine Arches. She is the Michael Marks Awards Environmental Poet of the Year 2023/24 and lives off-grid in Northumberland for nine months of the year.

Jane Burn is an award-winning poet, hybrid writer, artist and working-class person with autism / person with a disability. Her work is widely published in many magazines and anthologies and she regularly facilitates creative writing workshops. Her current collection, The Apothecary of Flight, is published by Nine Arches. She is the Michael Marks Awards Environmental Poet of the Year for 2023/24. Many of her essays, articles and thoughts upon creativity can be found on https://burnj.substack.com

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.