The Centre for Stories in Northbridge Western Australia has the best library I've ever seen. When I walked into the building to check out the space before doing my poetry workshop for the Perth Poetry Festival, I fell in love with this room. It's so fabulous that I wanted to... Read more →
Workshops & Tools
Has the muse left you and inspiration fled? Do you find it hard to put into words your feelings, thoughts and emotions? Are you stuck in a rut with your writing — revisiting the same metaphors and line breaks again and again? How can you see the world with new... Read more →
I have just had the most incredible two day Poetry Retreat hosted by Small Giants and held at the White House (no, not that one) in St Kilda. The facilitator of the workshop was Pádraig Ó Tuama, the incredible host of the Poetry Unbound podcast. During the pandemic and Melbourne’s... Read more →
Over the last few years I have done a lot of online poetry workshops and I am super grateful for the technology that has allowed me to do so. However, there's something super special about being in a room of other people, all of whom are writing a poem at... Read more →
I spent World Poetry Day 2023 with a group of fantastic kids ranging in age from three years old right up to fourteen. We had a fantastic morning of playing games, thinking about what poetry is and of course, writing some poems. Some of the kids had memorised poems which... Read more →
I have just spent the most amazing day immersed in the world of words. It began with Claire G Coleman's workshop, Embracing Your Poetic Licence, at the Wheeler Centre for Books. The workshop was part of the Melbourne Writers Festival and it was wonderful to be attending an event at... Read more →
I'm in the middle of doing three writing classes at once. And organising a book launch for my second collection of poetry. Madness, I know! Two of my classes are online through Writing NSW. Online Poetry with Pip Smith is a 6 week course about writing poetry. Sense of Place... Read more →
I'm chuffed to be taking part again in this year's Melbourne Spoken Word Festival Online. This time I'll be running a Promoting Your Poetry workshop for poets and writers who are looking to find an audience for their work. There's no point scribbling away madly in your garret if there's... Read more →
A couple of weekends ago I was back at the Village Continuum Festival, teaching a lovely and keen group of people the basics of leather craft. It's my third year of teaching at the festival and the second time I've run the Introduction to Leather Craft workshop. At my first... Read more →
Last weekend I attended my third Village Continuum Festival. It's an amazing three days of community, craft and collaboration held on an organic farm just north of Melbourne in the foothills of the Macedon Ranges. Coming back for my third year felt like coming home - there were so many... Read more →