Signs and Symbols

Symbols are all around us, communicating deeper and communally-felt meaning through everything from religious iconography to Stop signs. In poetry, they can open a door to a hinterland of shared and personal meanings, adding extra dimensions to our work with the most deft of touches. Join poet Jessica Traynor for a workshop in which we'll explore signs and symbols in poetry and how to create work with real symbolic impact.

About Jessica Traynor

Jessica Traynor is a poet and poetry editor at Banshee. Her latest collection New Arcana (Bloodaxe, 2025) was an RTÉ and Irish Independent Book of the Year. It was shortlisted for the Pigott Prize in association with Listowel Writers Week. Awards include the Lawrence O'Shaughnessy Award and the Tundish Award from Field Day.

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.