Poetry Writing Workshop with Ann Mackinnon

This workshop is an introduction to writing poetry and is the ideal workshop for anyone who has wanted to try it but has lacked the confidence to give it a go. You will learn about a few poetic techniques, look at a short poem more closely and then have the opportunity to put what you have learned into practice and write your own poem.

Ann writes poetry in both Scots and English and is widely published in anthologies and magazines. In 2014 a New Scottish Writers’ Award for writing in Scots, enabled her to complete a pamphlet called ‘Nae Flooers’, published by Tapsalteerie which was shortlisted for the Calum MacDonald Prize.

She has been placed in the McCash Poetry Competition several times. The anthology Discuss a few poetic techniques. Look at a short poem. Discuss the techniques used by the poet and then set them to writing a poem by asking questions like where, when , who, why? Once they have these ideas down they can do a bit of editing and then see what they have as a basis of a poem. If there is time they can feed back. was published by Tapsalteerie in 2022. All three writers featured in it write in Scots. In 2022 she was nominated for Scots Language Writer of the Year in the Scots Language Awards. Her latest pamphlet, ‘Warp and Weft’, was published by Red Squirrel Press in 2023. Recently she has judged the Scots Poetry Prize at Wigtown.

This event is supported by Book Week Scotland 2024 event funding.