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Dorothy Lawrenson

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Contact: [email protected]
Local authority: Edinburgh City
Languages: English, Scots
Dorothy Lawrenson's headshot

I write poetry in both English and Scots, and I am an experienced teacher of creative writing. Having embraced online as well as face-to-face teaching, I have delivered classes, led workshops, and facilitated discussions for adults of all ages and abilities, and I have also mentored individual poets. Previous workshops have included ‘Poetry: Find your voice’, ‘Have a go at Writing in Scots’, ‘Writing in Cafés: sensory experience and mindfulness for creativity’ and ‘Walking the Moment: a walking workshop’.


I love giving poetry readings, particularly if I can also throw in a traditional song or two and a tune on my Northumbrian smallpipes. I have performed in a range of venues, from literary festivals to folk clubs, and I’m renowned for my spirited Address to the Haggis at Burns Suppers. I enjoy working with other creatives for readings, talks, and workshops.


My work has been published in numerous journals and anthologies, including A Year of Scottish Poems and Best New British and Irish Poets 2019–2021, and I have won the Wigtown and Sangschaw Prizes. With both a PhD and MFA in Creative Writing, I am also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Local authorities will visit

Aberdeen City; Aberdeenshire; Angus; Argyll and Bute; Clackmannanshire; Dumfries and Galloway; Dundee; East Ayrshire; East Dunbartonshire; East Lothian; East Renfrewshire; Edinburgh City; Falkirk; Fife; Glasgow City; Highland; Inverclyde; Midlothian; Moray; Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles); North Ayrshire; North Lanarkshire; Orkney Islands; Perth and Kinross; Renfrewshire; Scottish Borders; Shetland; South Ayrshire; South Lanarkshire; Stirling; West Dunbartonshire; West Lothian

Events will deliver

Chairing events; Mentoring; Panel event; Performance; Reading; Residency; Talk; Workshop

Audience will work with

Adult learners

Topics of work

Animals; Biography & memoir; Childhood; Coasts, seas & oceans; Death, grief & bereavement; Editing & editing your own work; Emigration & immigration; Fairy tales, folklore & mythology; History; Love & romance; Music; Nature

Age groups published for

Adults

Age groups will work with

18+

Audience size

0-10; 11-30; 31-100; 100-500; 500+