Poetry Workshops

I am a skilled workshop facilitator with a love for creating safe, accepting and creative spaces in which people can exercise and develop their poetic skills, discuss poems, and write things they wouldn’t normally write.

My workshops usually last 90 minutes and have up to 20 participants, but this can of course be tailored to best meet your needs.

I hold a Certificate in Person-Centred Counselling Skills and alongside being a freelance writer I work in Student Support, meaning that I am able to hold space for people and can facilitate supportive, respectful environments in which people are free to come as they are and engage in a way that feels comfortable for them.

Because of this background, I have a particular interest in writing for wellbeing, and can offer workshops with a mental health or wellbeing focus.

I love coming up with new workshop ideas, and I regularly read and research to generate new concepts, prompts and exercises. Below you can get an idea of the kinds of workshops I have previously run.

For prices and bookings, please get in touch.

Previous Workshop Examples

  • On The Tip of My Tongue

    This workshop is an exploration of the relationships we have with our speaking voices. We will consider the gap between what we think we sound like when speaking to ourselves and how we sound to other people, between being introvert and extrovert, between a whisper and a scream. We will read and discuss poems by a range of writers, before using them to write our own.

  • Yes, Poetry Can Handle This

    This workshop explores the gnarly edges of poetry and asks how we can write about things that are ugly, boundary pushing and uncomfortable. As Rita Ann Higgins said, “a poem does not have to be nice.” We will discuss a range of unflinching poems and push ourselves to write our own.

  • Writing Liminal Spaces

    Chain hotels, service stations, shopping centres, airports, waiting rooms – these places of ‘inbetweenness’ can make us feel both that we could be anywhere, and that we are nowhere. This workshop explores the poetry of liminal spaces: we will look at poems set in these places and discuss how they are working, as well as exploring prompts and exercises to write our own liminal space poems.

What people say

  • "I can safely say that your session tonight was one of the best I’ve ever been to. I struggle sometimes with reading out loud and relaxing in group dynamics, but I felt none of this at your session because it was so chill and personal."

    Anonymous Participant

  • "I took part in Jenny’s Yes, Poetry Can Handle This. Jenny’s exploration of taboo subjects, her well-chosen samples and thoughtful feedback, encouraged me to write poetry for the first time in around two years. Since that day, I started considering myself a poet, and swapped courses to ‘Poetry’ on my MA course. To say that workshop was important to me is an understatement. Her thoughtful and well chosen workshop topics encourage debate and discussion, and her supportive and guided feedback is valuable and exciting to any poet, experienced or new."

    Kayleigh Jayshree

  • "Jenny is brilliant at making people feel comfortable but it goes much deeper than that, she has this very special skill of enabling writers to be themselves and surprise themselves at the same time."

    Steve Dearden, Director of The Writing Squad

  • "Beautiful poems thoughtfully chosen. Lots of interesting prompts and gentle invitations to explore. Really accessible format for a non-poet feeling nervous about accessing her creativity! I felt encouraged and looked after. Will definitely recommend!"

    Tasha Cobb

  • "That was such a special workshop!! Your prompts and exercises were so thoughtful and interesting, and you created such a nice atmosphere."

    Lenni Sanders

  • "A really inspirational session. Thank you, Jenny."

    Anonymous Participant

  • "Another brilliant workshop, Jenny was great!"

    Anonymous Participant

  • "What a fascinating workshop - really useful to think about our own voices and how we use them."

    Chapel FM

  • "Jenny is a wonderful workshop host - she has a kind and welcoming presence and talks beautifully about poetry!"

    Anonymous Participant