Description
I began writing poetry as a means of clearing up my thoughts and making sense of an increasingly strange world that surrounded me. In my lowest times, having quit a dentistry degree after having become disillusioned with the current medical system, it was poetry that helped me find a path towards sanity and sensemaking. I now couldn’t imagine a life where I wasn’t writing.
Having a command and craft over language has helped me define my mission and vision for the future in ways I could not have done otherwise. I believe being able to turn thoughts and feelings into poetry – even if only for ourselves – is an incredibly powerful tool for healing and development. Poetry benefits everyone.
With this in mind, I’ve developed a poetry workshop expressly designed with this in mind, taking elements from my own writing practises that I’ve found useful and combining them with ideas from the best self-development and group-based work I’ve experienced from master facilitators. “Basecamp” is a group workshop where we read and write poetry to help make sense of the challenges coming to us in our lives, and how we can re-activate the innate gifts and talents we possess to overcome those challenges.
These are generally run as 1hr 30min to 2hr group workshops, including readings as well as writings. In “Basecamp”, we’ll be looking at creating a poetic Basecamp at the foot of the mountain of problems we currently face in our lives. We’ll create and listen to poetry that helps both contextualise the problems we are facing, as well as the skills and resources we already possess that can help us take on those challenges successfully.
The group workshops are free, but you are welcome to Add A Tip at checkout if you feel called to give more. There is also the option to receive this session as a one-on-one with me over 1hr 30min at a fixed price of £20.
Please note that participation via video and audio is required for this session.
Leon –
I attended Poetry Bootcamp with very few expertise in poetry, beyond those which I learned in school. Tom cultivates an environment where it feels safe to share, regardless of skill level. He has a great ability to look past the technical aspects, and find meaning between the words, or to help others discover that meaning for themselves; I presented a poem that I was not initially happy with, from the choice of words, to the structure. Tom helped me to identify the underlying essence and find value in other, more important ways. The session has a structure, yet it is not imposing. I came away from the session with a newfound appreciation for poetry and what it can bring to my life. I definitely recommend this workshop!
Kathleen (verified owner) –
I did not know what to expect, I’ve never been to a poetry workshop before, but it was a great big Yes from Soul to join.
From the very beginning Tom created a sacred space so that we felt safe to share our poems, it can be vulnerable to voice your heart language to others, but I was inspired to be brave and received so much in return.
I also loved the structure, Tom held a container ~ the bank for our rivers of metaphor and creativity to flow through. And so I left with both tangible steps and Magic to implement my poetry into my daily life.
Fresh, outside of the box, I definitely cannot wait to a attend more workshops in the future!