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
creative writing workshop
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
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
Back to the Book Blog: Teaching, Readings and Reviews
I used to love writing blog posts and book reviews, and then I became a PhD student. From 2019 to 2024 I buried myself waist-deep in research while juggling a career as a freelance poet, creative writing teacher and academic. So I’m afraid this blog has taken a back seat for a while. Inspired by some of my fellow poets and their fabulous writer blogs (Natalie Ann Holborrow and Zoë Brigley, in particular) I am going to try and add a new blog post at least once a month, so here we go… Continue reading
Happy New Year! Here are my Literary Highlights of 2024
2024 began with the completion of the PhD, and then in May I was invited to read at the Aberystwyth Poetry Festival, where I enjoyed three days of sunshine and poetry performance. It meant a lot to me to be able to return to the place where it all began, reflecting on all that has happened since I began studying creative writing there in 2003. Nineteen-year-old me could never have imagined I would one day return, to read my poems in front of an audience at the town’s public library!
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An Ekphrastic Update: Exhibition, Course, and Conference
As my final year of being a PhD student draws to a close, I’m excited to be continuing my work on ekphrasis (writing poetry in response to art) in lots of different ways! First, there is still time to visit the Wales Millennium Centre where you can see our Explore Collective project exhibition: Freedom to Create.
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PhD Progress, Poetry, Collage and My Book Launch!
I have struggled a lot with my health over the past few months, but I also have a lot to be thankful for in what is effectively the final year of my PhD. The two writing retreats I attended in December were fruitful. I spent much of January writing new poems based on the January Writing Hour prompts provided by Kim Moore and Clare Shaw, inspired by the response to my interactive poetry museum display last autumn. Continue reading
The Joys of Poetry Editing and Writing Retreats
I love editing my poems. There’s a thrill in getting that first draft down on the page, but nothing beats spending hours, days, weeks, months (even years) pondering over a poem, testing out words, switching line breaks, finding the perfect form. However, I’ve never been in quite this position before, knowing that the final changes I’m making right now will end up as an actual book of poems. My debut collection Octopus Mind is due for publication in July, and the deadline is looming. Continue reading
Poetry in the Art Museum: In So Many Words
For the past nine weeks I’ve enjoyed seeing my PhD theories come to life, in the form of an interactive poetry display at National Museum Wales. The response has been phenomenal, beyond anything I could have imagined, and it’s been a real privilege to see so many people interacting with the display in different ways. Continue reading
Soaking up the Poetry at Ledbury Poetry Festival
I’ve just spent two fabulous days losing myself in the delights of language at this year’s Ledbury Poetry Festival. It was hot and sunny, and although many of the events were available to watch online, I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere of being right there, in the old town of Ledbury. The workshops were held upstairs in the Heritage Centre, a quaint (and very wonky) building, with a sloping floor. Continue reading
A Creative Writing PhD – The Third Year (Part 1)
It feels like this year has been busier than ever, probably because in-person things have started happening again, and it’s so nice to see real people!
The academic year started off with a bang, as my first ever peer-reviewed journal article was published online! The title is ‘Shaping the Lyric: Literal and Metaphorical Blank Space in the Poetry of Emily Berry and Ocean Vuong’ and it’s freely available online if you’d like to read it. It began life as a 2000 word essay for my MA, a few years ago, and I’ve spent many, many, many hours re-working and extending it for publication. I initially tried a different journal, and made it all the way through the peer review process, only to be turned down at the last minute. I’m so glad I decided to try again!
A Creative Writing PhD – The First Year
I began my PhD last autumn with a mix of excitement and trepidation. I was going back to study full time, to focus on creative writing – the subject that had thrilled me as an undergraduate thirteen years before. And what a year it has been, with so many unexpected challenges! But it has been fascinating too, and even though the last few months have not been easy, there have been plenty of highlights along the way. Continue reading
Poet in Residence at the Cynon Valley Museum
For the month of June I’ve been writing and posting new poems on the Cynon Valley Museum website, responding to their online art exhibitions, and artefacts from their collection. I was privileged to work at the museum for a few months last year, before starting my PhD, and was impressed by their high quality art exhibitions, some of which you can now see online. Continue reading
Poetry – Feedback, Submissions and the #100Rejections Challenge
How do you decide which poems to submit to which magazines, and when? How do you cope when your poems get rejected? And how do you respond to critical and constructive feedback? These three questions are ones which I’m sure every poet grapples with, and I’ve certainly had my fair share of grappling this year. It’s helpful to pause and look back every now and then, so here are my reflections on taking part in the #100rejections challenge… Continue reading
Diary of a Creative Writing MA Student – The Final Year
There’s something inspirational about spending time with other writers, sharing a mutual interest in words and stories, poems and punctuation, and last week I attended the MMU Creative Writing Summer School – the perfect finish to my MA, after two years of study and creativity. I just have one final assignment to complete – a collection of 300 lines of poetry – and that will be it! I thoroughly enjoyed the summer school, and am now feeling re-energised and ready for a final burst of creativity over the summer… Continue reading
A Poet in the Making – Finding Inspiration at Tŷ Newydd
Last week I was invited to the Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre in North Wales as one of 10 writers selected for the 2019 Literature Wales Mentoring Scheme. After several months of ill-health I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to attend, but the week turned out to be beneficial in more ways than one – providing not only inspiration and development for my writing, but also some much-needed rest and relaxation in a gorgeous old house on the Llŷn Peninsula. Continue reading
The Magic of Place – A Creative Writing Summer School
Manchester Metropolitan University’s annual Creative Writing Summer School is designed to push you into trying out new things. As a poet, I naturally signed up to attend most of the poetry sessions, but it was the ‘place writing’ workshops which I enjoyed the most. A visit to Chetham’s Library, on the second day of the summer school, was definitely the highlight for me – an opportunity to forget the pressure of honing my craft as a writer, to wander about and take photos, scribble down notes and enjoy the atmosphere of peace and tranquillity. Continue reading
Diary of a Creative Writing MA Student – Year 1 of 2
I began an MA in Creative Writing in September, studying at Manchester Metropolitan University (part time by distance learning). I chose this particular course because it was possible to fit the work around my paid employment – the seminars are online in the evening (through chatrooms) and you can liaise with tutors via email or phone. It also has a great reputation, with a lot of talented writers teaching on the course, and it’s possible to specialise in a particular area (novel writing, place writing, poetry or writing for children). I chose to specialise in poetry. Continue reading
What makes a good book cover?
What makes you pick up a book? I am unashamed to admit that the cover and title of a book always have an impact on whether or not I decide to read it. They’re what I see first, and first impressions count, to the extent where, even if a book is highly recommended, an unappealing cover will put me off for a long time.
So what is it that attracts you to a book? And what puts you off? Here’s a quick analysis of book cover science…
Made in Roath – Literature / Spoken Word Events
Every city has its artistic areas, and Cardiff is no different. Roath is one of its most creative suburbs, partly due to ‘Made in Roath’ (the annual community arts festival) which often includes a number of literary events. This year there’ll be more literature and spoken word events than ever before, from storytelling and performance to exhibitions, competitions, comedy and workshops, all in just one magnificent week (15th-22nd October). So here’s a taste of what’s to come… Continue reading