During this one-day workshop, facilitated by poet Gerry Boland, participants will meet other poets, many of them at different stages of their writing life. We will read and discuss contemporary poems, learn how to tell the difference between a weak and an average poem, and between a good and a great poem, and we’ll write and develop new poems. By the end of the day, you will come away with a deeper appreciation of your own strengths and weaknesses as a poet, and how best to proceed in your poetic journey. You’ll also have a few newly-written poems to take away and develop.

A message from Gerry Boland: “This poetry workshop will be of use to anyone who is interested in writing poetry, both newcomers and experienced poetry practitioners. I’ll present a wide variety of poems (a couple of my own, but mostly by other poets), some of which we’ll discuss and analyse, some of which we’ll workshop. There’ll be plenty of opportunity for everyone to write, and to share, if anyone wishes to do so. There’ll be discussions on structure, on voice, on themes, on what makes a great poem, and practical exercises designed to illustrate how to turn a weak poem into something worthwhile and original, even memorable.”

Gerry Boland has published ten books to date, three of these being poetry collections (Watching Clouds; In the Space Between; All That Jazz). His ambitious project (working title: AHIMSA) which contains fifty photos and corresponding poems on an animal rights theme is to be published by Lantern Publishing (USA) in 2027. He is currently working on what will be, when published, his fifth poetry collection. Gerry was writer-in-residence with Roscommon County Council in 2013 and again in 2014 and has wide experience of leading writing workshops in poetry, short fiction and memoir.