Tom's Workshop: Poetry in Crisis
What's Involved?
Where?
Why Tom?
"In a time of crisis, poetry can help us focus our attention, and interacts with social conditions and political upheavals, what Osip Mandelstam calls ‘the noise of time’. No matter what a poem is about or when it was written, it still interacts with ‘the noise of [its] time’, as it was born out of certain conditions. Poetry avows the existence of the conditions out of which it came."
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- Tom Branfoot
In this workshop, you will look at examples by contemporary poets as diverse as Roger Robinson, Eavan Boland, Ocean Vuong and Tishani Doshi and see how their poems respond to political turmoil, experience, myth and how identity is politicised in their poetry. We will also explore how the form of their poems reflect the content, encouraging different writing practises and ‘ways of seeing’, to quote John Berger.
By the end of this workshop you should feel more comfortable about sharing your work and will have written - or gained some knowledge on how to write - according to the conditions of your existence.
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These workshops will include a mixture of responsive and free-writing exercises.
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Tom is able to conduct workshops in person or online via zoom. His in person workshops take place in London.
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Tom encourages individuals and groups to get involved. Group discounts are available.
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This workshop can be booked much like any appointment. Simply contact us today in order to discuss availability.
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This workshop would make a fantastic gift for friends and family.
Tom is a poet from the North, currently residing in London.
His first pamphlet I'll Splinter was published by Pariah Press in September 2021. You can read our review online for free here.
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Tom holds a first class degree from MMU, and is currently studying for his masters at UCL.
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