About the course
Across four online sessions, we will explore how to experiment effectively and take bold, creative risks in your poetry and writing practice. The series will focus on the editing and development of poems in progress through in-depth discussion and collaborative feedback.
Together, we will engage with a broad range of contemporary poetry to inspire and expand your practice, pushing your imagination into new, brave, and playful territory through close readings of recently published work. We’ll also use music, sound & image as creative stimuli to get our poetry juices flowing, spinning our tracks in unknown and eclectic directions on the page! These sessions are designed to encourage a punky, playful and surrealist approach to poetry while helping you refine and strengthen your writing.
By the end of the four sessions, you will have greater confidence in experimenting with poetic form, developing your voice, and challenging the boundaries of what is possible in your work as a poet/maker/artist.
This series is primarily aimed at those with some prior experience in writing poetry; however, writers at all levels are welcome.
About the tutor
Jess Murrain (she/they) is a queer, interdisciplinary creative of British-Caribbean heritage working across live art, performance, film, and poetry. This year, she’s resident poet and writer-in-residence at Bethlem Gallery in association with Creative Future. Jess is also the co-founder and Artistic Director of Art Wife, an experimental live art company whose most recent project, NEUROQUEER, was commissioned by Bradford 2025 City of Culture and came to fruition as an experimental sound work and self-published zine in collaboration with Loose Associations Mixed Media Collective.
Her work has been recognised through several awards, including the Ledbury Poetry Prize (2021) and the Out-Spoken Prize in Poetry and Poetry-Film (2023), with poetry/essays appearing in Callaloo, The Poetry Review, bath magg and Magma. She’s an alumnus of Southbank New Poets Collective, and her poetry pamphlet ‘One Woman-Horse Show’ is published by Bad Betty Press.
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, neurodivergence, substance misuse, survivors, carers, working class backgrounds, and those from the LGBTQIA+ community, Black, Asian, traveller, mixed heritage or other global majority backgrounds.
Dates & Time:
Wednesdays: 8 – 29 April
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.
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:
£50 / £25 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 are unavailable and/or the course is 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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