Unstable ground: the poetry of marsh, moor and mire

Bogs and other peatlands are some of our most important landscapes, rich with history and mythology, inhabited by unique life forms, and storing twenty time more carbon than our forests. In this 90 minute workshop, we’ll explore the bog not just as an inspiring subject of great poetry, but also as a model – inspiring us to push into our own dark water and uncertain ground to write genre-defying, deep and layered new work.
Join expert poetry tutor Clare Shaw as they help you put pen to paper in a 90 minute workshop filled with inspiring discussion and writing exercises.

About Clare Shaw

Clare is a Bloodaxe poet: their fifth collection will be published in 2027; their last collection was a Poetry Society Book of the Year. As a regular tutor for organisations including the Royal Literary Fund, the Writing School, Wordsworth Grasmere and the Arvon Foundation, Clare shares their infectious passion for nature and poetry through popular workshops, seminars and events. They are co-editor of the eco-anthology ‘The Book of Bogs’ (Little Toller 2025), and a co-host of the ‘Writing Bogwise’ project.

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.