Workshops

…the aim is to burn through to first thoughts, to the place where energy is unobstructed by social politeness or the internal censor, to the place where you are writing what your mind actually sees and feels, not what it thinks it should see and feel. It’s a great opportunity to capture the oddities of your mind. Explore the rugged edges of thought. Like grating a carrot, give the paper the colourful coleslaw of your consciousness.  

Natalie Goldberg

I believe poetry is for everyone.  I aim to create warm, welcoming workshops so that people feel safe to explore their own experiences, and either get excited about poetry for the first time, or stretch themselves into new areas in their writing practice. 

I have delivered creative writing workshops  for the NHS in a hospice setting, and as part of mindfulness courses provided for the Diabetes service, for Nottingham Poetry Festival, for Writing East Midlands, on the Beyond the Spectrum project and in a local college, and privately for small groups. 

I can offer workshops and courses at any level, from people absolutely new to writing, to experienced poets and writers wanting to generate ideas and develop their work. I am especially interested in working with people who might have found it difficult to express themselves before, for whatever reason.  

Beginners workshops will offer easy to engage with poems or extracts, alongside exercises which encourage people to play with language and discover what they want to say.  Workshops for more experienced writers will also include returning to the sense of playing with language to create something new and restore energy and delight to creative work. 

Workshops can also include critiquing and feedback, but this will always be appreciative, with respect for the writer's own aims, and for the risks they have taken in sharing their work. Workshops will aim to develop writer's trust in themselves and their own voice, so they can decide what feedback to take on board, and what to set aside.

As a long-term mindfulness practitioner,  I can combine creative writing exercises with mindfulness exercises, providing short courses or workshops with a focus on creativity and wellbeing.

I have worked as a counsellor and trainer within the NHS and other settings for over twenty years, and so I am experienced in creating a sense of safety and understanding within workshops. I hope this will help participants feel safe in exploring what it is they have to say, even when that might be difficult.

In addition to counselling and training throughout my career, I also spent three years leading the counselling training programme at a local college, and three years as a trainer on counselling courses, so I am an experienced teacher and workshop facilitator.

Poetry tends away from individualising, blaming, criminalising – and towards empathy and compassion. Poetry gives us a tangible opportunity to walk in each other’s shoes...No wonder that poetry is so often allied to the radical and the marginalised; a powerful yet nuanced vehicle for individual healing and progressive social change. I’m very proud to be a poet.

Clare shaw