Due to popular demand, Laila Sumpton, current poet in residence at the Keats-Shelley House and British Council, will be giving three special public workshops on creative writing at the Keats-Shelley House on Friday 26 October, from 15.30 to 16.30 and from 17.00 to 18.00 and on Saturday 27 October from 11.00 to 12.30.

FRIDAY 26 OCTOBER, 15.30-16.30: the subject will be "Travel Poetry". A workshop about taking readers on a journey and bringing cities to life on the page using all of the senses. We’ll be writing poetry postcards, city haiku’s and learning how to turn the city into a character with a distinct personality. We will look at how to build vivid descriptions using words economically, and how and when to break the line.

FRIDAY 26 OCTOBER, 17-18: the subject will be "Lost property". A workshop where we’ll use writing exercises to explore the stories of lost and forgotten objects in a lost property box. What secrets do they hold, who were their owners and how did they come to be discarded? We will look at how to personify objects and use mystery in our story telling.

Numbers are limited so please call on 06 678 4235 to find out more information and to reserve your place, or email us at [email protected]. The workshop will be in English, and is open to adults with an intermediate level of fluency and beyond. 

Laila`s own poetry uses imagery and lyricism to tell stories about identity and human rights. She studied English literature at the University of St Andrews and is studying Human Rights at the University of London. She has worked with various NGOs using poetry and the arts to campaign  for human rights and bring people together. She is a member of the Keats House Poetry Forum, who perform at events in Keats House and Laila organises workshops at the annual Keats House Festival in London, as well as at festivals across the UK. She is putting together her first pamphlet and has been documenting the memories of war survivors in Bosnia. She has run poetry workshops for young people at museums including the London Transport Museum and her work is currently part of the "At Home with the World " exhibition at the Geffrye Museum in London. http://lailasumpton.blogspot.com/