Welcome to our page for Women Poets’ Network events.
All indicated times are UK time. All events are online unless otherwise stated.
NEXT EVENT…
Women Poets Open Mic & Practical Chat
29 September, 12.30pm
£2 suggested donation
or FREE for WPN Members & Open Mic Readers
Join hosts Jen Feroze and Degna Stone for a Sunday afternoon delve into poetry – come as you are!
After the summer break, we’re easing gently back in to our Open Mic and Practical Chats with one of the themes suggested by attendees of our Summer Gathering: “How to find the right form for my poems.”
There are countless poetic forms to choose, from the décima to the dramatic monologue, the golden shovel to the glosa. So this month, we’ll be showcasing poems that follow a form.
Whether you choose a sestina or a sonnet, the trick is to make sure that the form doesn’t overwhelm the poem. I’ve read more villanelles that buckle under the weight of the rhyme scheme and repetition than I care to mention. But when they work, boy do they sing!
We’ll kick off as usual with our open mic before diving into the chat. We’ll let the conversation flow naturally but we might think about the following: How can you use form as a way into a poem or as a way of approaching difficult subjects? How do you know when to abandon a form and let the poem be what it wants to be? How do you know when to perservere? Come along and let us know!
If you’ve got a fantastic poem written in any form you choose (yes, even free verse) we’d love to hear you read it. Priority will be given to new readers, please submit one poem only.
SIGN UP FOR THE OPEN MIC HERE!
BOOK TICKETS
Open Mic poets and Women Poets’ Network subscribers receive free entry!
To join the WPN, and receive free entry to all our online events, please click here.
COMING UP…
All events are online unless otherwise stated.
27 October, 12.30pm
Open Mic & Practical Chat
14 November, 7pm (tbc)
Webinar and Workshop
24 November, 12.30pm
Open Mic & Practical Chat
17 December, 7pm (tbc)
A Cosy Christmas Evening (WPN Fundraiser)
Past Events
2024 Programme
Open Mic & Practical Chat: Truth, Vulnerability & the Poetic ‘I’
Open Mic & Practical Chat: Collaboration & Finding Community
Open Mic & Practical Chat: Editing Techniques
Webinar & Workshop: How to Get Commissioned with Jo Bell (The Poetic Licence), Lisa Mead (Apples and Snakes) and Theresa Muñoz (Newcastle Poetry Festival/Newcastle University)
Open Mic & Practical Chat: Getting Your Poems Published
FALLOW: Zine Making with Elizabeth Gibson
Open Mic & Practical Chat: Write What You Know?
Women Poets’ Network Summer Gathering: Featuring Prerana Kumar, Jennifer Lee Tsai and Dillon Jaxx
Open Mic & Practical Chat: MANIFESTO!
2023 Programme
2022 Programme
Women Poets’ Festival supported by the National Centre for Writing
Webinar: How to Sustain a Career as a Woman Poet with Robyn Law (Society of Authors), Dzifa Benson (Jerwood Fellowship) and Julia Bird (Poetry Society/Jaybird Live Literature
Women Poets’ Circle: Finding and Making Poetry Communities with Christy Ku
Women Poets’ Circle: Building Our Own Residencies with Jo Bell
Webinar: What We Talk About When We Talk About Poetry Culture with Forward Arts, Jerwood Foundation, & Poet in the City
Online Social & Open Mics: discussing topics such as writing the perfect bio and entering prizes, with 16 poets reading and breakout networking rooms
Women Poets’ Circle: Creativity & Confidence with Shamshad Khan
Women Poets’ Gathering: Collaborations at Poetry Pharmacy