About the course

…It’s taken/ a while for me to admit, I am in a raging battle/ with my body, a spinal column thirty-five degrees /bent, vertigo that comes and goes like a DC Comics/ villain nobody can kill. Invisible pain is both/ a blessing and a curse.  

From Wonder Woman by Ada Limón 

Join County Durham poet Rachel Burns for a series of online workshops that will take you on a journey of creativity and self-discovery. Across a range of writing exercises, we will delve into the world of disability poetics, explore the profound connection between nature and healing, discover hope and resilience through the power of words, and create a poetry toolbox for mindfulness.

• Week 1:  Disability Poetics: Poetry of liberation.  
• Week 2:  Nature and Healing: Poetry as renewal.  
• Week 3: Hope & Resilience: Words to lift us.  
• Week 4: Poetry for Mindfulness: Art of observation and poetic form. 

Who is it for?

This workshop is aimed at people with disabilities, long-term health problems, and d/Deaf writers–BSL interpretation will be available, so please let us know if you require it, as well as any other particular access needs.

It is open to and welcomes all other underrepresented writers–those who face barriers to opportunities due to mental health issues, learning disabilities, neurodivergence, substance misuse, survivors, working-class backgrounds, and those from the LGBTQIA+ community, Black, Asian, traveller, mixed heritage or other global majority backgrounds.

 

About the tutor

Rachel Burns was born in Newcastle Upon Tyne. She lives with disability and chronic illness. She has been published in  Butcher’s Dog, The Rialto, The Moth, and Magma. Her short stories are published in Signs of Life, an anthology edited by Sarah Sasson, and Mslexia. She came second in the Julian Lennon Prize for Poetry 2021 and was longlisted in the National Poetry competition 2021. She has recently been awarded an Arts Council Developing Your Creative Practice grant. She has facilitated poetry workshops for the Ginkgo Prize and Spelt Magazine. 

 

 

Date

4 Sessions – Wednesdays 1, 8, 15, 22 November 2023

Time

6.30pm – 8.00 pm

Cost

£40 standard /£20 concessions

In order to make our resources stretch further, we have to subsidise some workshops with nominal fees well below most online courses. The more people who book at full price, the more we’ll be able to offer. Half-price places are available for those on benefits, unemployed/underemployed or on low wages. We do not ask for proof that you qualify. We have limited concessionary spaces available and can’t unfortunately offer additional ones. If concessionary spaces aren’t displayed below, they are fully booked, but we can add you to the waiting list if you e-mail [email protected].

Where

Online via Zoom

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