The Pared Down Poem

How much can a poem hold? Can four or five lines contain grief, desire, joy, rage, the strange business of living? In this workshop we'll explore the power of the pared down poem through the work of Lucille Clifton, Selima Hill, and the minimalist stories of Lydia Davis. We'll consider what is gained by saying less: how compression creates tension, silence invites the reader in, and the smallest poems can carry an astonishing emotional weight. Through close reading and writing exercises, we'll experiment with stripping our own poems back to their essential elements, asking what remains, and what begins to resonate more deeply, when almost everything else is taken away.

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

About Rachel Long

Rachel Long’s debut, My Darling from the Lions (2020), was shortlisted for the Forward Prize, The Costa Book Award, The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award, and the Jhalak Prize Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour. She was born in London, and now lives in Margate. Her second collection, Sparrow on the Rooftop, was published by Chatto & Windus in June 2026.

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.