Write a Love Poem for Your Valentine

Join award-winning poet Deborah Finding in discovering new poems, fresh inspiration, and what a renewed sense of what love poetry can be.

Workshop Time: 2:00-4:00 pm

Surely all the love poems have already been written? How can we find new ways to talk about a topic – a feeling – so omnipresent? And how can we pin down forms of endearment, longing and connection, which can mean something different to everyone?

Join poet Deborah Finding in this friendly, thought-provoking workshop that invites budding to experienced writers at all levels to explore fresh approaches to one of poetry’s oldest and most universal themes.

Using contemporary love poems as inspiration – including work by Jo Bell, Clare Shaw, Carol Ann Duffy, Frank O’Hara and Nazim Hikmet – you’ll be guided through a series of practical, imaginative exercises designed to help you write your own poems with confidence and originality.

By the end of the workshop, you’ll have drafted at least three new poems and gained tools you can return to again and again.

Who’s this workshop for?

This will be an inclusive love-themed poetry workshop, where you’ll find a relaxed, encouraging space to experiment with language, ideas, and poetic form. Open to everyone aged 15+.

What makes this workshop special?

• Gain expert tuition from an experienced, published poet
• No experience is needed! – all levels are warmly welcomed
• Join a friendly, inclusive group atmosphere
• You’ll explore a variety of poems as inspiration, not as rules
• Take the chance to write, reflect and share your ideas among a supportive community

You’ll explore the poetic techniques for:

• Using unexpected and unusual metaphors for love and relationships
• Writing with specificity, whilst also leaving space for the reader to interact
• Generating drafts through guided exercises
• Developing confidence in your unique poetic voice

There will be opportunities to share your writing with the group, but this is always optional, depending on your comfort. The workshop’s emphasis is on enjoyment, experimentation and discovering new ways into your poetic work and creative mind.

About the tutor
Deborah Finding is an award-winning poet and queer feminist writer whose books (Vigils for Dead and Dying Girls, Amortisation, My Marxist Valentine) blend sharp thinking with emotional honesty and humour. Widely published and anthologised, her poems have appeared in Magma, fourteen poems, The Little Review, berlin lit and more. Her interests span gender, sexuality, trauma, mythology and popular culture, with writing featured in The Guardian, DIVA and leading academic books and journals. She was the inaugural poet in residence at London’s Soho Poly.

With a PhD from the LSE and degrees from Cambridge, Deborah brings intellectual depth to warm, inclusive creative writing workshops for writers at all levels. She is passionate about wellbeing, social change and the power of the arts to support healing and connection. In her workshops, expect stimulating prompts, contemporary voices, and plenty of space to experiment.