From Leaf to Line: Writing Eco-Poetry

(Suitable for writers with any level of experience, or none.)

In advance of the workshop, please go for a walk in a local park or other green space. Find a small natural object to bring with you to the Crescent: perhaps a leaf, a twig, a flower, a stone, a bit of moss. (Something you like the look of; something which interests you in some way.)

We will begin our workshop by reading and discussing some contemporary poems about natural objects. Then, looking closely at your specimen, you’ll be guided to write by responding to a series of prompts. After shaping and editing your work, with some tips on how to do this, you will have the opportunity to read out what you’ve written to the group, if you wish.

About the tutor

Emma Must is a poet living in Belfast. She has more than a decade’s experience of facilitating creative writing workshops. Formerly a full-time environmental campaigner, in 2021 she completed a PhD in English (Creative Writing) at Queen’s University Belfast, focusing on ecopoetry. Emma’s poem ‘Toll’ won the Environmental Defenders Prize at the 2019 Ginkgo Awards.Her debut poetry collection, The Ballad of Yellow Wednesday (Valley Press, 2022), was longlisted for the Laurel Prize 2023 and Highly Commended in the Forward Prizes.