Elizabeth Bishop (‘the poet’s poet):
sustaining the long poem, with particular reference to ‘Crusoe in England’.

In a recent successful workshop we considered why other poets admired Elizabeth Bishop’s work and any particular techniques which might inspire our own writing.

In this follow-up, we will look in detail at Bishop’s longest poem, ‘Crusoe in England’ from Geography III, (1996-7). What techniques does she use to sustain this longer poem? How might they be useful for our writing, a long poem or otherwise?

You don’t need to have attended the previous workshop. Copies of the poem will be sent in advance though it is also available online.

About Pam Thompson

Pam Thompson is a poet, reviewer and educator based in Leicester. She has been widely published in magazines and has been Highly Commended for the Forward Prize. Her latest collection is Strange Fashion (Pindrop Press, 2017) and forthcoming is her pamphlet, Sub/urban Legends, winner of the 2023 Paper Swans competition. Pam is a Hawthornden Fellow.

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.