A Bargain with the Light: Exploring Lee Miller at Tate Britain

Explore Lee Miller's trailblazing photographs at Tate Britain as inspiration for new poems.

Best, and justly, known for her fearless war photography, Lee Miller was a vital part of the international avant-garde of the Twentieth Century, transcending her role as model and muse to blaze a trail for women artists everywhere despite – or perhaps because of – her unconventional and complex life story.

In this 2-part workshop, under the expert direction of Jacqueline Saphra, we’ll take in the new exhibition of Lee Miller’s work at Tate Britain – featuring around 250 vintage and modern prints, including those never previously displayed – to explore the ways in which history, art, and biography intersect in her work, and soak up inspiration for new poems of our own. We’ll do some in-situ writing at the gallery before breaking for lunch and then reconvening for an afternoon classroom session, where we’ll share our impressions and experiences of the morning, alongside diving further into the world of ekphrastic writing to help shape your responses to the gallery session.

We’ll then re-convene a fortnight later for part 2, where we’ll spend time workshopping your new drafts and further reflecting on ours experiences in the gallery, on Lee Miller’s place in the avant-garde, and the exciting world of ekphrastic poetry!

2 x full day sessions, running 10.30am–4.30pm (GMT), on 29 Nov and 13 Dec 2025. Session 1 will begin at the Tate Britain, where students will explore the Lee Miller exhibition before relocating to The Bindery, 51 Hatton Garden, London, EC1N 8HN for the afternoon. Session 2 will run entirely in The Bindery.

Concessions & Accessibility

To apply for a concession rate, please send relevant documentation showing your eligibility for one of our concessions to [email protected]. Conditions of eligibility are detailed here. If you have any questions or wish to be added to the waiting list of a sold-out course, please email [email protected].

What to Expect

Please check the left hand side of this page for information on how this course works in practice, under the heading ‘Course Style‘. If you’re unsure as to what any of the terms there mean, or if this course is a good fit for you, please visit our What to Expect page which includes some further information on how our courses function.

Image Credit: @Hercules Editions

About Jacqueline Saphra View Profile

Jacqueline Saphra is a poet, playwright, teacher, and activist. She is the author of nine plays, four chapbooks, and five poetry collections. Her second collection, All My Mad Mothers was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize and her fifth, Velvel’s Violin, a Poetry Book Society recommendation, was out from Nine Arches Press in July 2023. Jacqueline is a founder member of Poets for the Planet. Her book A Bargain with the Light is a tribute to the work of Lee Miller and was first published by Hercules Editions in 2017.

"Every course I have done with the Poetry School has led me to discover new poets both in the assignments and the poetry of the other people on the course. I have been inspired to write new poetry and am in the process of getting some published. Overall a great experience."

- Spring 2025 Survey Response

The Poetry School