Making an Entrance

Many poets find titles one of the hardest things to write, yet they do important work - they have to catch the eye of a potential reader, and give them a way into the poem. And what about opening lines? Why do we remember 'April is the cruellest month' whilst other first lines make us toss the book away? In this workshop we'll discuss our favourite titles, see which famous first lines we can recognise, and analyse what makes this writing memorable or inviting. We'll also try some fun exercises devised to kickstart your poems.

About Clare Pollard

Clare Pollard’s sixth collection of poetry is Lives of the Female Poets. Her poem ‘Pollen’ was shortlisted for the Forward Prize. Clare has also recently written the adult novel The Modern Fairies, which won the Tadeusz Bradecki Prize, and a novel for children, The Othernauts.

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.