About the course

In this writing workshop we will draw inspiration from the rich and varied exhibits available to view at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery. Whether you are most drawn to art, the natural world, or local history, we will use creative exercises to transform your interests into striking and colourful poems. This workshop welcomes writers of all experience levels.

In addition to the workshop, Natalie will be writer-in-residence at the museum on Saturday 20 April from 10am-5pm, do stop by and say hello and have a go at a writing prompt.

Who is it for?

Open to local residents in Stoke-on-Trent and the surrounding area, and all underrepresented writers—those who face barriers due to mental health challenges, physical health/disability, sensory impairment, learning disabilities, neurodivergence, substance misuse, survivors, working class backgrounds, those from the LGBTQIA+ community, and/or from Black, Asian, traveller, mixed heritage or other global majority backgrounds.

Date

Saturday 27 April

Time

2-4pm

Cost

£2.50

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
• help with travel costs
• help with childcare costs

About the facilitator

Natalie Linh Bolderston is Creative Future’s 2024 Writer in Residence for Stoke-on-Trent. She is a Vietnamese-Chinese-British poet who has won the 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. Her pamphlet, The Protection of Ghosts, was published by V. Press in 2019. She has been commissioned by the Royal Society of Literature, the National Poetry Library, the Poetry Society and elsewhere. She is an alumna of the Roundhouse Poetry Collective and the London Library Emerging Writers Programme, and is part of the latest Writing West Midlands Room 204 cohort.

About the Venue

Potteries Museum and Art Gallery. Bethesda St, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 3DW

The museum is a short walk from Hanley Bus Station, or a 20 minute walk / 12 minute bus journey from Stoke Train Station. 

Information about how to get to the Museum can be found here. If you have any questions about venue access or how to find the venue, please contact the Potteries Museum directly. Phone – 01782 232323, or fill in contact form.