When: Friday 24 September 2021 at 11am
Where: Zoom (please email register@ms-uk.org for the Zoom link)
Interested in writing poetry? Maybe you’re a complete beginner or maybe you already dabble in verse?
Writing poems is a creative way of exploring and recording your thoughts and feelings about a wide range of topics. Plus, because poems are usually short and can take on many different shapes and styles, poetry can be perfect for writers with MS. The shortness and flexibility of poems can make them more accessible for people who find fatigue, pain or discomfort make longer forms such as fiction or story writing challenging.
Our introductory session is a great way to have a go at writing a poem and get some ideas for developing your own writing practice.
Please see below the overview of the introductory session and information about Georgi Gill our workshop facilitator, a poet who has been living with MS for eighteen years.
In this informal session, Georgi will read a poem to the group which will be discussed briefly and use as a prompt for our own writing. Then there will be a short writing exercise to help develop your ideas for poems before a chance to use these ideas to draft our own short poem. Georgi will be on hand to support you if you require help or assistance to complete your writing. Plus, she’ll share some tips along the way about how to get ideas flowing onto the page.
We will also let you know the details of our next eight-week poetry course coming up on October 2021.
You may prefer to write your poems by hand, type them on a device or voice record them. Please bring along paper and pen or make sure you have access to a suitable device for typing/recording your poem.
The session is free to join and you can register to attend by contacting us at register@ms-uk.org.
Georgi Gill is an Edinburgh based writer and researcher. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2003 and her life with MS inspired her to develop her current PhD research at the University of Edinburgh. This research explores the potential of poetry to inform and transform dialogues between individuals with multiple sclerosis and others.
With a previous career in teaching and also as Learning Manager at the Scottish Poetry Library, Georgi has extensive experience of devising and delivering creative writing workshops and projects for participants of all ages and from all walks of life. As part of her current research, she has delivered online writing workshops for groups of people living with Relapse Remitting, Primary Progressive and Secondary Progressive MS.
One of Georgi’s core beliefs is that poetry lets us experiment with words to find new ways of speaking to ourselves and each other from the heart. Poetry is not just for academics or people who did well in literature at school. It’s a creative act we can all enjoy and benefit from!
Georgi’s work is widely published in anthologies and magazines. Her first full length collection of poetry will be published in 2021. You can find out more about Georgi at https://georgigill.com/
If you would like to know more about the session or need help registering, please email register@ms-uk.org.
Please see the feedback below from participants of our previous poetry course;
“It was really good to meet others with MS and do something creative with them. The opportunity to be creative and have allocated time for this was a really good thing, as it meant I was more likely to be creative for a while rather than having to try and fit it in to daily life.”
“This was an amazing course, very worthwhile and I would recommend to anyone. It was really good as everyone on the class had MS and knew the struggles and difficulties it causes. It was quite freeing to have a specific time to spend on doing something with a creative outlet. The tutor was really lovely and very approachable. I feel I have learnt a lot from this course and it’s given me a bit of a confidence boost for my writing in the future.”
“I wasn’t sure what I wanted out of the course but Georgi inspired us all to write. I enjoyed the writing process and learnt many different techniques. I would thoroughly recommend the course for anyone who has an interest in starting to write poetry.”
