Following the success of a similar group which Matti hosts in Totnes, he is bringing his skills to Exeter!
The plan is to hold regular meetings where poets of all abilities can come to write, share and get feedback on their work.
Each session will include the reading and discussion of a well-known poem, giving participants the opportunity to learn from established poets. There will also be a few minutes given at the start of each gathering for silent contemplation.
An important part of this group will be the exploration of poetry-writing from a spiritual perspective; of writing as a devotional path; as prayer; as spell-casting; as prophecy. In particular, paying attention to the structural aspects of our writing (rhythm, rhyme etc.) we will discover how we might share both personal and universal themes with directness and power; how we might create work that allows our heart to speak with clarity, unhindered and uncluttered.
For Matti, writing and studying poetry has been the key to so much personal growth and happiness, and he would love to share something of what he’s learned along the way.
So, if this sound like something you’d like to be involved in, Matti would love to hear from you!
Through the making of poetry, you have the opportunity to access levels of awareness discovered for generations through contemplative approaches, such as prayer and meditation. The group will explore the writing of poetry as a ‘presence-practice,’ considering how, through writing, they might discover ways of expanding their experience of the present moment. In this workshop series, the group will learn to practice writing as a way of increasing our ability to sense the sacredness and magic of everyday life, coming to discover the power of deep-listening, required by all poets, that brings them closer to ourselves and the places they inhabit.
Cost: £72 (concessions available, enquire directly)
Limited spaces, there will be 6 x 1.5 hr group sessions every Thursday from 9th June.
Matti Spence is a poet and workshop facilitator living in Totnes, his first collection When it comes to letting go of the image is available from Hesterglock Press.
Accessibility Statement: Held in the Heavitree room at the Exeter Community Centre which has disabled access, no BSL available. Exeter Community Centre has three on-site disabled parking bays which need to be pre-booked prior to the date required. There are city centre car parks within a 5 to 10 minute walk from the centre. There is also limited short stay on-street parking.