Younger Writers 7-11
Here there and everywhere - adventures with folk tales and fairy tales.
Come to weave a spell with stories which are full of the magic of transformation and rich in imaginative drama. We will read several stories together and create our own versions, making books of stories and poems.
There are no courses scheduled at present, but do contact me if you would like to work one to one or plan something for a group of children. This can be tailored to a morning, a day or a week.
Birds of a Feather
Explore idioms, proverbs and stories - take flight with a celebration of all things feathered…
We will look at how artists & poets capture the moment, & also consider what may be just outside the frame. Making stories of our own, we might also find ourselves speaking out for the animals, trees & people in the pictures…
Every Picture Tells a Story
Adventures in writing 12-18
Journeys
Exultation is the going of an inland soul to sea Emily Dickinson
We will explore poems & stories, thinking about quests, discoveries & adventures, both within and without.
There are no courses scheduled at present, but please contact me if you would like to work one to one or with a group
every picture tells a story
We will look at how artists & poets capture the moment, & also consider what may be just outside the frame. Making stories of our own, we might also find ourselves speaking out for the animals, trees & people in the picture…
Beyond GCSE - taking your reading to the next level for Oxbridge and beyond
These courses develop a deeper understanding of English literature through reading & creative writing. They are suitable for students who are getting ready for Oxbridge & those who would like to extend their reading in a substantial & imaginative way. Each group will provide close attention for a small group of students.
adults
Having worked alongside Lesley in writers' workshops and in the hosting of poetry events, I have always been impressed not just by her own work - which, to me, combines lyricism with insightful thoughtfulness, a wise maturity and a particularly keen ear for the music of language - but by her skill in offering feedback to others.
David Wakely, Pushcart nominee, short story writer, copywriter & musician
There are no courses scheduled at present, but please contact me if you would like to work one to one or with a group
Poetry Sundays
A series of workshops which will get your creative mo-jo going for a new or existing project, & enable you to set some goals for moving forward. For all levels.
‘Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.’
Rachel Carson
River and Sky
‘I have known rivers: ancient dusky rivers. My soul has grown deep like the rivers.’ Langston Hughes
Two workshops which will aim to renew our perception of the natural world, connecting with the elements of water and air & tapping into our deepest responses. These elements provide us with some of our most powerful images & metaphors for flow and feeling.
We will start each session by looking closely at poems & paintings, warm up with some writing exercises and head out for a quiet river walk from Putney Bridge to Hammersmith and back.
'We must go out and re-ally ourselves to Nature every day. We must make root, send out some little fibre at least, even every winter day.'
Henry David Thoreau
Leaf Alchemy
1.Out of the darkness
2. Vernal Equinox
3. Spring Alchemy
Writing Workshops February to April
'Will there be apples where now there is a sleeve of blossom?’ Lucy Ingrams
Trees and plants provide us with some of our most powerful images & metaphors for growth & transformation – leaf, blossom, bud, fruit, root & seed. These writing sessions will focus on nature as place of escape & renewal, and as an aspect of our deepest ecological engagement. We’ll explore poems & paintings, & take a walk along the river path to connect deeply with our observation. Bring a notepad you are comfortable to use while on the hoof – hardback is best - & a sketchpad if you like to draw.
Out of the darkness: ‘open again/in the cold light of earliest spring’ Louise Glück
Witness the emergence of the new, unearthing winter’s secret life.
‘A light exists in spring’ Emily Dickinson
Unravel the contradictions of early spring, the shape of unexpected light.
‘the eyelids of the pollen open’ Pablo Neruda
New beginnings: love, pilgrimage and the wild extravagance of nature.
…‘like shedding a skin’
‘It was a completely new experience for me. I had no idea of the depth and breadth of what you were offering, especially the depth. You took me into various poems and paintings to which I would not have had that kind of access.’
…‘so enjoyed the day’
Wednesdays in the Gallery 10:15-12:30pm
Every picture tells a story. Using paintings and photographs as a starting point we will look at the ways artists & poets capture & frame the moment. Come ready to develop your responses into poems & prose of your own. Start the day with coffee, poetry, discussion & some writing warm-ups, before exploring the Gallery. Venues to be confirmed.
Portrait and Landscape
Sea and Sky
'Language is a very difficult thing to put into words.' Voltaire
Begin a journey from the skies of ancient Greece to the wild coasts of modern-day Scotland in search of the elements which provide us with some of our most powerful images & metaphors for flow and feeling. At Tate Britain.
Reading & Writing Groups
These small groups offer a chance to deepen your reading in a way that is also fun and expansive. For all levels of writing experience. Each course includes an optional one-to-one session to look more closely at your work.
The sonnet as portrait and mirror
Trace the development of the sonnet from its origins in the medieval courts of Europe, & finally follow it across the Atlantic to find its poetic DNA in the work of three 20th century American poets. We will also explore ways in which the structure and imagery used by these poets might give us new ways into written portraits of our own.
4 weeks
Home
This course will consider the shaping power of domestic interiors and memory, focussing on the writing of Katherine Mansfield. We will begin by looking at ‘Prelude’ & ‘At the Bay’ from The Garden Party, exploring the ways in which these stories can illuminate our own writing about place and home.
‘All the remembered places, I am never far away from them. I long to renew them in writing.’ Katherine Mansfield
4 weeks
Wandering, reading, writing -- these three activities are for me intimately linked. They are all ways of observing both the inner and the outer weather, of being carried away, of getting lost and returning. Edward Hirsch