Poetry SchoolLooking to start your journey into poetry? Welcome to First Steps, our new Beginners series with Isabelle Baafi!
What is First Steps?
First Steps is our new Beginners’ series. The programme consists of two alternating monthly workshops (‘Finding Inspiration’ and ‘A Closer Look’), running between July and December 2026.
Who is First Steps for?
This series is open to all but would be ideal for Beginners, to support your first steps into writing poetry in a friendly and accessible way and open up the exciting world of creative writing.
How many sessions do I need to attend?
We recommend booking one session of Finding Inspiration and one session of A Closer Look, but you have the option to just book one session if you’d prefer.
Do I need to attend the sessions in a particular order?
No, you can attend either session first if you are looking to attend them both!
Will I need to bring a poem to the session?
No, this is a content-focused Zoom class, meaning it will be driven by taught content and focus on inspirational reading, technical or thematic study, and generating new work under the direction of the tutor.
What time does the session(s) take place?
6.30–9.00pm (BST) on Zoom.
Here are the next dates coming up:
In this fun, interactive, beginner-friendly workshop, you’ll spend time discussing what makes poetry a unique art form, how you can find and sharpen your voice, and how you can draw inspiration from everyday life.
In this fun, interactive, beginner-friendly workshop, you’ll consider the different ‘ways in’ to a poem, and the various modes for using voice, perspective and address to write poems that are fresh, surprising and unique.
You can find all available dates below:
Finding Inspiration
A Closer Look
If you have any queries about this series or relating to your booking, please contact us at [email protected] and we would be happy to assist.
About Isabelle Baafi
Isabelle Baafi is the author of Chaotic Good (Faber & Faber / Wesleyan University Press, 2025), which won the Jerwood Prize for Best First Collection, was shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize, and is longlisted for the Swansea University International Dylan Thomas Prize. Her pamphlet Ripe (ignitionpress, 2020) won a Somerset Maugham Award and was a Poetry Book Society Pamphlet Choice. She won the Winchester Poetry Prize 2023 and has been published in Granta, the TLS, The Poetry Review, Callaloo, The London Magazine, and elsewhere. She edits at Poetry London and Magma.
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