Creative Writing Workshop with Dr Charles Bennett

About

As part of a series of one day creative workshop aimed at professional and amateur writers/poets including 6th form students who are studying literature and/or arts subjects. Inspired by the work of figurative artist Susie Mendelsson who is exhibiting at the jgallery 7th May to 25th June 2010, participants will experience the challenges of connections between visual art and the written word. During the day there will be a series of thought provoking exercises resulting in finshed pieces of poetry and prose which will be displayed in the gallery alongside Susie's artwork Workshop leader Dr Charles Bennett. This workshop is open to anyone interested in writing a poem. It's designed to generate a new piece of work though interaction with one of the paintings on display and by the end of the day those attending will leave with the beginnings of a new poem which can then be revised. The workshop will initially focus on how works of art have been interpreted through poems in the past, and there will be a handout provided for all those who attend with a series of examples. Through discussion of these poems, we will focus on methods and techniques which will then be implemented through a session where the pictures in the gallery will act as a focus of sustained observation and imaginative engagement. As a result of this process we will construct a first draft, and share the results. Towards the end of the session, as the poems are shared, we'll consider a number of points to help with the revision and polishing process, and thereby highlight those areas where further work might take place. The workshop will be led by Dr Charles Bennett, a friendly, engaging and enthusiastic tutor. He teaches at the University of Northampton, where he is Programme Leader for the BA in Creative Writing and Field Chair in English. His second full-length collection of poems, How to Make a Woman Out of Water, appeared with Enitharmon in 2007.