Self-Portrait with Gorilla: Songs of Ourselves and Others 

Some thinking about poetry tells us that everything is about the self: if ten of us look through a window and write a poem about the same view, all of us will end up writing about ourselves. There's no escape! So why not embrace this subject and find inventive ways of addressing it? In this workshop, we'll look at all sorts of creative frames which allow us to enjoy writing about ourselves and to discover the subject anew: we'll write about ourselves through animals, metaphors, our hobbies, our hair, our appearance, even our own poems, recorded in other people's voices... If there's a new way to get to the self, we'll try it! And if you're sick of the self, we'll also be trying to broaden out, create portraits of others, use some of these strategies to celebrate those who matter to us. We'll draw on some fabulous poems by writers like Paul Farley, Caleb Femi, Kathryn Bevis, Kim Moore and Hannah Perrin King. Join us for a fun and creative poetry evening!

Join expert poetry tutor Jonathan Edwards as he helps you put pen to paper in a 90 minute workshop filled with inspiring discussion and writing exercises.

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.