Someone Else's Shoes: The Poetic Monologue - A Masterclass with Writer in Residence Jonathan Edwards

10am

From Robert Browning to Carol Ann Duffy, Patience Agbabi to Simon Armitage, many writers have explored the joy of how writing from the point of view of someone — or something — else can free the creative shackles and unleash poems of great power. Make your poems sing in new voices by joining this masterclass with Jonathan Edwards, whose second collection, Gen, features a host of voices, from cities to lions, historical figures to retail park trees. Drawing on the work of a range of poets, you will draft poems in a number of different voices. What would it be like to be an animal or an astronaut, to have lived 500 years ago or to see the world through the eyes of a bird circling above a city? This masterclass will show that all you need do is pick up a pen to find out.

Jonathan Edwards's first collection, My Family and Other Superheroes (Seren, 2014), received the Costa Poetry Award and the Wales Book of the Year People's Choice Award. It was shortlisted for the Fenton Aldeburgh First Collection Prize. His second collection, Gen (Seren, 2018), also received the Wales Book of the Year People's Choice Award. His poem about Newport Bridge was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem 2019, and he has received prizes in the Ledbury Festival International Poetry Competition, the Oxford Brookes International Poetry Competition and the Cardiff International Poetry Competition. He has read his poems on BBC radio and television and at festivals around the world, recorded them for the Poetry Archive and led workshops in schools, universities and prisons. He lives in Crosskeys, South Wales.  

Tickets are priced at £45 which includes lunch and tea / coffee. 

Online booking for this event is now closed. To book please call 01244 532350.

Please note that in 2020 one place on each of our Writer in Residence masterclasses will be reserved for a new access initiative. Details coming soon.

Please note that tickets for this event are e-tickets. Book online and have your ticket emailed directly to you – then save the environment by bringing along your e-ticket on your phone or tablet and have it scanned as you enter the event. If you would prefer to print your ticket, black and white is fine.

A print and collect service is available to those without access to email facilities for a small charge to cover our admin costs. Call 01244 532350 or email [email protected] for more information. Printed tickets will be available to collect from Reception before the event.