About the course
In this workshop, we will explore the hybridity and fluidity of the lyric essay, planting the seeds for our own creative experiments. We will look at various possibilities for the construction of lyric essays, including epistolary forms and fragmentary approaches, and we will consider how we can sustain a longer form while maintaining the musicality and intensity of the language we use.
Drawing inspiration from writers such as Jennifer S. Cheng and Nina Mingya Powles, we will find ways of using the lyric essay as a space of wonder and creative liberation. With the aid of generative exercises, we will begin to stitch together our own startling and transformative pieces.
About the tutor
Natalie Linh Bolderston is a Vietnamese-Chinese-British poet. 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.
In 2024, she was Creative Future’s writer-in-residence for Stoke-on-Trent, her hometown. Her pamphlet, The Protection of Ghosts, was published by V. Press in 2019. Her debut full-length poetry collection, Divinations on Survival, will be published by Liverpool University Press in April 2026.
Who is it for?
All underrepresented writers—those who face barriers to opportunities due to mental health issues, physical health/disability, sensory impairment, learning disabilities, neurodivergencce, substance misuse, survivors, carers, working class backgrounds, and those from the LGBTQIA+ community, Black, Asian, traveler, mixed heritage or other global majority backgrounds.
Dates & Time:
Mondays: 19 – 26 January
6-8 pm
This course takes place online via Zoom. Links will be sent seven days prior to the first session, and again the day of the first session.
This set of workshops is running twice. If places are full for these dates, please see availability for the same course running Mondays, 2 – 9 February.
Access:
You can see our full access commitments here.
- When you book, you can let us know about any access needs you have and we will do our best to accommodate them.
- Workshops will not be recorded, as we wish to ensure a safe and open space for all participants attending.
- Presentations and course handouts will be provided.
Cost:
£25 / £12.50 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 who book at full price, the more we’ll be able to offer.
Concessionary places are available for those on benefits, pensioners, unemployed/underemployed or on low wages. We do not ask for proof that you qualify.
If concessionary spaces aren’t displayed below, they are fully booked. We can add you to the waiting list if you e-mail info@creativefuture.org.uk.
Other workshops
We are offering as many workshops and as many places as our resources allow—they are heavily subsidised by our limited funding.
You might also want to have a look at other workshops on offer elsewhere.
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