Pockets of Joy: Poetry

How do we acknowledge loss and still make room for hope?

How do we witness grief but still allow for ‘pockets of joy’?

This course explores how poetry can hold both. Throughout this 6-week course, you will consider poems that effectively make room for seemingly opposing ideas. You will use a range of writing prompts to stimulate your own writing.

This course includes time to workshop and receive feedback on your developing poems.

About the tutor

Stephanie Conn is a multi-prize winning poet and experienced creative writing facilitator.

Her collections include Copeland’s Daughter (Smith/ Doorstep, 2016) chosen by Billy Collins as winner of the Poetry Business Competition; The Woman on the Other Side (Doire Press, 2016) which was shortlisted for the Strong/Shine Award for Best First Collection; Island (Doire Press, 2018) and off-kilter (Doire Press, 2022) exploring the lived experience of chronic illness, researched and written as part of a PhD on Poetry and Illness.

Stephanie was the 2023 Poetry Ireland resident poet at the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris, and a 2024 recipient of the Arts Council of N.I. Major Award and the Royal Society of Literature’s Literature Matters Award.