I’m not a top flight poet, never will be! However, the best thing I ever did as a developing poet was to join a Stanza group where poets meet to share and discuss their work. Even in lockdown, we’ve kept going via Zoom, but this isn’t for everyone. Some people favour something less exposing than a group situation, preferring a more private arrangement. That’s where Gold Dust comes in!
Since I began writing about six years ago, I’ve been on so many workshops including with Helen Mort, Jo Bell, Jean Sprackland, Andrew McMillan, Jonathan Davidson, Jane Commane, James Sheard, Caroline Bird, Liz Berry, Helen Ivory, Martin Figura, Katrina Naomi, Gregory Leadbetter, Jaqueline Saphra, Gillian Lambert, Philip Gross, Sophie McKeand, Chris Kinsey, Bethany Rivers, Jonathan Edwards – the list goes on.
I now run my own workshops and have had work published in magazines and anthologies. I’ve had two pamphlets published: Only Blood (Yaffle Press) and Kissing in the Dark (Indigo Dreams). I get to read a great deal of poetry through my role as curator of Welshpool Poetry Festival and our Open Poetry Competition. I’m also a reviewer for London Grip. I think the learning curve I’ve been on has given me the credentials to cast my eye over your work and to share my knowledge and experience with you. Let me offer constructive suggestions, help you tidy up a few things or offer new directions for you to experiment with.
Always remember that if you ask for feedback:
- It may not always be what you expected or wanted to hear – you need to keep an open mind
- What you do with the feedback is up to you – your poem is yours alone and you may decide to leave it just the way it is
- Anyone who sees your poem may read it quite differently from how you intended – each new reader and how you connect with them matters
- I am a poet too – I have the same self-doubt and difficulties bringing a poem to the page as you do – it’s good to have another writer share their thoughts
- It’s best to send poems that you haven’t yet had success with, rather than poems that have made it into print
PLEASE GO TO ‘THE GOLD DUST OFFER’
GOLD DUST 