About the course

In this series of writing workshops, we will explore the boundless possibilities of poetry and how it can illuminate our inner lives and the world around us. We will pay particular attention to the poetry of rituals and everyday life, the poetry of myth and world-building, and the poetry of landscape and environment.

Drawing inspiration from poets such as Romalyn Ante, Warsan Shire, and Victoria Chang, we will use creative exercises to write our own startling and transformative poems. This workshop welcomes writers of all experience levels.

Who is it for?

Open to all underrepresented writers—those who face barriers due to mental health issues, physical health/disability, sensory impairment, learning disabilities, neurodivergence, substance misuse, survivors, working class backgrounds, those from the LGBTQIA+ community, and/or from Black, Asian, traveler, mixed heritage or other global majority backgrounds.

Dates

Tuesdays – September 19, 26 & October 3, 10, 17, and 24 2023

Times

6 pm -8 pm

Cost

£15 for the full course (£2.50 per session)

Access

Please get in touch if you have particular access needs which we can try and accommodate on [email protected] or 01273 234 780 (Tuesdays only or voicemail).

This can include:

• disabled access
• free places for carers
• help with travel costs
• help with childcare costs

About the course facilitator

Natalie Linh Bolderston is a Vietnamese-Chinese-British poet from Stoke-on-Trent.

In 2020, she received an Eric Gregory Award and co-won the Rebecca Swift Women Poets’ Prize.

Her poem ‘Middle Name with Diacritics’ came third in the 2019 National Poetry Competition and was shortlisted for the 2021 Forward Prize for Best Single Poem.

She is an alumna of the Roundhouse Poetry Collective, the London Library Emerging Writers Programme and the VanThanh Productions Development Programme.

She is also a member of the latest Writing West Midlands Room 204 cohort.

Her pamphlet, The Protection of Ghosts, was published by V. Press in 2019. She is now working on her first full-length collection. 

About the Venue

Public Transport

Nearest train station

• Stoke-on-Trent Railway Station – 1.2 miles away

Nearest bus stops

• 101 bus – 292 feet away
• 2, 7A, 7, 8A, 9, 18, 24, 43, 60, 61 buses – 0.1 miles away

Parking

MAC customers may use the Tesco Extra car park (located on the old Clough Street to the rear of MAC), please ensure you bring your car registration details into the Centre and enter them into the car registration screen on the wall of the Foyer. We thank Tesco for their continued support.

The closest pay & display car park is Brakes car park on Broad street, next to the MAC.

Limited disabled parking is available on Broad Street in front of the venue.