My next online poetry course (which begins on 21st January) is specifically aimed at neurodivergent folk who want to explore and examine their own experience of being neurodivergent through poetry. It’s aimed at people who already have some previous experience of writing (maybe you studied poetry at university, or have attended writing workshops a few times) and it is open to anyone who is (or who thinks they might be) neurodivergent, whether you are officially diagnosed or not. But I also want to share some resources in this blog post that I’ve found helpful, both as a neurodivergent writer and as a teacher. So here are details of the course, followed by some resources… Continue reading
Author: Rachel Carney
National Poetry Day: 8 Key Habits for Honing your Poetry-Writing Skills
Happy National Poetry Day! My online creative writing course ‘Poetry Writing: Starting to Write’ is due to begin on 12th October, and I really enjoyed teaching this course last year. It got me thinking about the various different habits I’ve developed over the years that have helped me to write poetry and to keep on writing (editing, submitting, etc). So here are eight key habits for honing your poetry-writing skills… Continue reading
An Untutored Writing Retreat at ‘A Place to Write’
I have attended a few poetry writing retreats over the years, at Ty Newydd (in Criccieth) and Totleigh Barton (in Devon). All of these retreats have been inspiring and helpful, with some extremely knowledgeable and encouraging tutors (including Pascale Petit, Will Harris, Daljit Nagra, Owen Sheers, Paul Henry, Martha Sprackland, Will Burns and Jonathan Edwards) but this year I needed something different. In early September I spent a week in Corwen, in the Dee Valley, at Bron y Graig – A Place to Write, taking part in an untutored writing retreat. Continue reading
Two Beginner Poetry Courses for Autumn 2026
I’ll be running two beginner poetry courses this autumn. One of these is an online general poetry course, open to anyone who’d like to start writing poetry, or to take a fresh look at the nuts and bolts of how poetry writing works. The other course will be in-person (in Cardiff, UK) and is specifically focused on poetry that explores neurodiversity, open to anyone who has (or who thinks they might have) lived experience of neurodivergence (diagnosed, self-diagnosed, or undiagnosed). Continue reading
Summer Update: Academic Writing and Poetry
This year has been a rather unusual one for the life of a poet. I never imagined that I’d end up writing an academic book, but that’s exactly what has happened. Ekphrastic Poetry in Practice: Art and Words in Conversation is close to completion, and will be published by Bloomsbury Academic in late 2027. Continue reading
What makes a good poetry festival?
Last May I attended the Aberystwyth Poetry Festival, and came away buzzing with ideas. But what was it that made this poetry festival so special? I have been pondering this question for a while now. Of course, everyone will have different experiences of literary festivals. Having organized a few literary events myself, I am aware of just how much unpaid labour often goes into making them happen. Festival organisers often work with very little, if any, funding, and rely heavily on small teams of dedicated volunteers. So here are a few reflections from a poetry festival addict, and please do share your own experiences using the comments below. Continue reading
Celebrating Ten Years of Book Blogging Today! Here are My Top Ten Poetry Books…
Today is officially my 10th Book-Blog-Birthday! To celebrate 10 years of book blogging, I have selected my Top Ten Poetry Books from the past 10 years of reviewing! When I first started this book blog, I spent several days struggling with the impossible decision of what genre to focus on. I love poetry, but I also love reading lots of other genres. In the end I decided that the blog should reflect the blogger: I would blog equally about poetry and fiction, and about literary events and festivals too, creating a space that reflects who I am, and which books I enjoy reading. Continue reading
My Poetry Film at StAnza Poetry Festival and Upcoming Readings
I’m delighted to have my poetry film ‘Fragments of Us’ selected as one of the films to be shown at the StAnza Poetry Festival this year! The film will be available to view online, and also in St Andrews, where it will be screened at the Byre Theatre, 13-15th March 2026. Continue reading
Ten Years of Book Blogging! A Celebration, Reflection & Top Ten Books
I launched my book blog 10 years ago, on 18th March 2016. So this month I am celebrating 10 years of book blogging! To mark the occasion, I’ve selected my Top Ten books for Ten years of Book Blogging… and I’m also partnering with local bookshop, Book Space Cardiff, to offer free copies of How to Start a Book Blog: A Step by Step Guide via Instagram (scroll down for more details).
A lot has changed in those ten years. I started the book blog because (after being made redundant from a job I loved) I was fed up, bored, and jealous of a friend who had a blog, and I also had quite a lot of time on my hands… Continue reading
Online Creative Writing Course Starting in May: Ekphrastic Poetry & Prose
I’ll be running another online creative writing course starting in May, and it is now available to book! Inspired by Art: Ekphrastic Poetry & Prose begins on 11th May, focusing on seeking inspiration from visual art. It is self-paced, running for 9 weeks, with weekly writing prompts, feedback and discussion of example texts, including three live workshops delivered online, via Teams. Continue reading
Book Review: Witsh by Mari Ellis Dunning
There have been many fictional retellings of witch trials published in recent years, based on true stories of women who were accused of all sorts of offences. Witsh by Mari Ellis Dunning is more unsettling than most, because parts of the narrative are told from the perspective of ‘The Villagers’. This communal voice evokes an unnerving atmosphere of fear and suspicion: Continue reading
Book Review: Small Things Like These & Foster by Claire Keegan
I have always admired those who can fold an entire world into a short story, and the novella form appears to perform this feat with deceptive ease. I like the fact that you can read a novella in one sitting, but that its narrative stays with you long after you have finished reading. Perhaps the novella has more in common with the poem than we might think. Continue reading
Experimenting with Form & Technique: A New Online Poetry Course
UPDATE: I’ll be running two online creative writing courses starting in May! Poetry: Experimenting with Form & Technique begins on 4th May, and will be available to book soon. This self-paced course is aimed at poets who already have some experience of writing poetry, and would like to develop their skills. It will include 3 Live Workshops on Monday evenings, delivered via Teams (on 11th May, 6th June, 6th July). Continue reading
‘Fragments of Us’ Poetry Film *Now Online* & Photos of the Launch
My poetry-film ‘Fragments of Us’ is now available to view online! You can watch it here. I’ve also written about the process of creating it in this previous blog post. To celebrate this milestone, I thought I’d share some of the photos from the launch event, a reel of creative responses from those who came along, and a short video clip showing my interactive collage book. Continue reading
Extending the Ekphrastic Conversation with SHAPE Arts
In May 2024 I finally submitted the hard copies of my thesis, and wondered what might come next. With a creative writing PhD, the creative component (in my case, a collection of poems) is usually published as a book, though this process can take a long time. I still intend to publish my poetry collection in book form, but I’ve also had an opportunity to expand my creative work in a new, and unexpected direction. Continue reading
A Summer of Publication: Poetry, Fiction and The Submission Process
As with buses, you can wait many months for a poem to be published, only to find that several publications come all at once. Suddenly, it looks as though you’ve become incredibly prolific, when the reality is that much of the writing and editing has been going on behind the scenes for several years! This summer has been particularly fruitful for me. I’ve also been lucky enough to be involved in a poetry-chain project organised by Gill Connors, and the launch of my poetry-film (which I began work on last summer) will take place at the end of October. Continue reading
Online Creative Writing Courses – Poetry & Ekphrasis
I’m really excited to be delivering five online creative writing courses in 2025-6! These include three poetry courses: (1) Starting to Write, (2) Experimenting with Form & Technique, and (3) Pushing Poetic Boundaries. There will also be a course on ekphrastic writing, and I posted details about another course (Writing Neurodiversity) a couple of weeks ago. I’ve included a short summary of each course below, with links to find out more information and booking details… Continue reading
An Ekphrastic Celebration & Poetry-Film Launch!
I’m really excited to be launching a poetry-film at an in-person event on 30th October! ‘Fragments of Us’ was commissioned by SHAPE Arts. It combines poetry with a focus on the process of making, reflecting on the creativity of museum visitors who responded to an interactive poetry display that took place at National Museum Cardiff, as part of my PhD research, three years ago. The film incorporates some of the original words taken from museum visitors’ texts, linking them together in a way that embodies the social and relational aspects of this ongoing ekphrastic conversation. Continue reading
A Review of Versus Versus: 100 Poems by Deaf, Disabled and Neurodivergent Poets
This new anthology of poems by deaf, disabled and neurodivergent poets feels weighty, in both a literal and a metaphorical sense. The poems explore a vast range of different ways in which our minds and bodies can exist or present differently, but there is a thread of oblique disruption that seems to run throughout. What intrigued me initially about this new anthology was not the poetry itself, but the front cover (which isn’t easy to look at, being an optical illusion), described on the inside page: Continue reading
An Online Creative Writing Course: Writing Neurodiversity
I’m really excited to be teaching five different creative writing courses next year (2025-26) and all of these short courses will be taught online, so that means anyone, from anywhere, could sign up! One of these creative writing courses will be aimed at fellow neurodivergent writers. If that’s you, and you’re interested in reflecting on your own experience of neurodiversity through writing, then keep on reading… I’ll be posting more details about the other four courses very soon! Continue reading