Poetry Workshop - 15th March, 2016

26 members attended our meeting on 15th March and were delighted to welcome award-winning poet and Creative Writing tutor, John McCullough, who gave a stimulating and inspiring workshop on how to write good modern poetry. First, we looked at how key elements, such as rhythm, sound and repetition are used to imply emotion subtly, rather than state it overtly. Then, in groups, we analysed and discussed two contrasting but excellent modern poems, trying to tease out what made them memorable and fresh. We were given a topic and did some freewriting to 'unleash the strange thoughts at the back of our brains' before trying to expand key lines into short poems. Some of us were brave enough to read out our attempts and all received encouraging constructive feedback from John. Finally, he outlined his own creative process before reading out three of his own best known poems. It was a fascinating and thought-provoking evening, and we all feel more confident about having a go ourselves now.