Are you looking for a way to inspire a group with poetry and performance?
I’ve written poems for the National Trust, Channel 4 and Radio 3’s ‘The Verb’. My work has been featured in the Guardian, on BBC Breakfast and I’ve appeared on stages around the UK, from Glastonbury Festival to the Royal Albert Hall.
I offer poetry workshops suitable for many ages, from Key Stage 1 right up to adults. I’ve ran projects for Apples and Snakes, New Writing North, Changing Lives and The British School in the Netherlands. As well as being a lot of fun, the sessions build on literacy, artistic expression and oracy skills. Holding a first class BA in English Literature, I have an in-depth knowledge about the technical side of writing.
For more information, or to book a session, please click here.
–
Previous Work
Newcastle City Council- Best Summer Ever! (August 2020)
I led a project with a group of young people in The Byker Wall estate to produce a mixed media poetry/graffiti piece. These workshops took place outside and in accordance with safe COVID-19 procedures. Over the course of 4 sessions, I worked with groups of 13 young people which contained a wide mix of abilities and ages. We generated poetry on the theme of home. The young people then worked with graffiti artist Frank Styles to transform this material into a public art piece.
“I’ve learned how to use creative ideas”- Participant
British School in the Netherlands (February 2018)
After my successful TEDx Talk in The Hague, I was invited back to The British School in the Netherlands to deliver a week’s worth of workshops. I visited 3 different primary schools and engaged students with low levels of literacy, many of whom struggled with creative expression. We interviewed others to find inspiration, wrote about ‘moments of peace’ and created a group poem about the school using verbal exercises. The school did a write-up of the workshops here.
“A special ability to draw out the voice of the most hidden student and explore it, he engaged with children from 5 to 11 years old expertly”- Liz Jones, Teacher
–
Seven Stories, Rhyme Scene (September 2017-November 2017)
I worked with a group of year 8 and year 9 students from Walker Technology College in a 3 month project at Seven Stories, the national centre for children’s books. We wrote new material which expressed hopes and fears for the future and created a final pop-up performance that combined elements of poetry and theatre to engage the general public.
“I would sign up today if it was happening again”- Student
“It was wonderful to see them performing their work with such confidence (which some seem to have only discovered whilst taking part in the project)”- Martyn Webster, English Teacher
–
Rowan McCabe 