Hello! I’m just popping up to give you the heads up about some workshops happening in the coming weeks and months in person and online. Hope you find something of interest – Juliette x
September fattens on vines. Roses flake from the wall. The smoke of harmless fires drifts to my eyes. This is plenty. This is more than enough. - From ‘September Song’ Geoffrey Hill
Human=Nature: Entanglements
Sunday 22nd September 10.30am – 1.30pm, Sladebank Woods, near Stroud
“What a treat! I enjoyed every single second of it - a wonderful group of people, a gorgeous setting and how beautifully led it was” - Sophie, participant Summer Workshop
WH Auden wrote that ‘a culture is no better than its woods.’ Join me on the Autumn Equinox for a very special workshop at Sladebank Woods on the edge of Stroud town, a thin place that leans into the trouble where urban life meets the wild with all of its human and more-than-human detritus.
Through a combination of experiential activities engaging with the woodland, readings, interactive discussions, and reflective exercises, you will seed new writing and have the opportunity to share work for feedback with others.
This workshop series offers a unique space for a deeper appreciation of our interconnected nature and is open to writers working at any level and in any form.
Level up! Workshop Series (online)
1st October, 5th November, 3rd December 6pm – 9pm
I am super excited about this one! Elevate your poetic craft in this dynamic workshop series tailored for those already writing and eager to take their poetry to new heights. Each session dives into the essential building blocks of poetic practice, from reading to refining your voice, helping you build confidence and broaden your poetic range.
My goal is to foster a supportive community of writers, offering a safe space where constructive feedback and genuine camaraderie fuel your growth. Here, we celebrate each other’s successes and turn our inevitable moments of failure into opportunities to comeback better.
This critique group is a great option if you want to polish your work to publication standard and/or prepare a poetry pamphlet or collection for submission to a publisher. The group will be small – maximum 5 or 6 – so that we can really focus on developing your practice. Two spaces have already been snapped up. There are options to pay in instalments as well. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions.
“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” Malcolm Gladwell Outliers (2008)
The Thingness of Things: finding meaning in the everyday
Saturday 16th November 10.30am – 4.30pm, Stroud, Gloucestershire
To be an artist is not a matter of making paintings or objects at all. What we are really dealing with is our state of consciousness and the shape of our perceptions. Robert Irwin
Objects can tell us a great deal about people, places, our histories, experiences, tastes and styles - they can be symbolic, functional, speak to our cultures and identities, hold sentimental and emotional significance and be valuable to us in so much more than economic terms. Writing about objects can help make the ineffable or indescribable material.
In this day-long workshop, you will be invited to explore the rich, often overlooked, narratives embedded in the mundane items that populate our lives. Using observation, reflection, and creative prompts, you will see the world around you with fresh eyes and articulate the hidden poetry in the everyday.
More information and booking here.
Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar. - Percy Bysshe Shelley
There are loads more other exciting events going on at Dialect this autumn, including literary walks, writing retreats with childcare and a brilliant 10 week course with Kate Potts on British and Irish women poets. Click here for all the details you need.