POEMS OF PLACE & CHANGE | In-person walking & writing workshop with Carl Tomlinson & Kate Oldfield | Oxford | Saturday 8th June, 11.00am–4pm
Join poets Carl Tomlinson and Kate Oldfield for a short walk through a long history as we explore Oxford’s canalside. We’ll look at places that have changed and think about places that have changed us. Away from the dreaming spires, we’ll be considering the trade and transport which shaped this area.
After our walk, there’ll be time to reflect and write. Expect good conversation and generative prompts.
All are welcome, whatever level you believe yourself to be. Just come with pen, paper and your imagination.
The workshop involves a one-hour walk*.
On Saturday 8th June, participants will meet at 11am at Makespace Central in Park End Street, OX1 (just across the road from Oxford train station and behind Lula’s Ethiopian Cuisine (a sign will guide you to the correct door). From there we shall walk up the canal towards our writing venue in Jericho.
Places are limited and booking is essential.
Fee: £40. (A concession place is available for a regular attender of Oxford Poetry Library events.)
Please bring your own tea/coffee and a packed lunch. Although there will also be plenty of venues serving the same at the beginning and end of our walk. Please wear comfortable shoes for walking a mostly flat path. Please also be prepared for British weather.
The workshop will end at 4pm in Jericho, OX2.
*If you would like to participate and have limited mobility, get in touch and we’ll discuss alternative arrangements.
Any queries to hello@kateoldfieldwrites.com.
About Carl Tomlinson
Carl Tomlinson lives on a smallholding in rural Oxfordshire. His poems have appeared in Orbis, South, The Alchemy Spoon, The Hope Valley Journal, Spelt, and several anthologies. His poem ‘Market Forces’ won the Shout out for the Oxford Covered Market competition, and now forms part of the market’s audio guide.
Carl’s debut pamphlet, Changing Places was published in 2021 by Fair Acre Press. Helen Mort says of it that it ‘challenge[s] us to move beyond a naïve appreciation of the ‘natural’ and recognise the ways that our landscapes have been profoundly altered by human presence’.
About Kate Oldfield
Kate Oldfield lives in Oxford. She runs writing workshops, retreats and events at The Writing Well. (www.the-writing-well.com). She has worked in publishing for over twenty years, latterly as a writing mentor, ‘book fixer’ and ghost-writer. She is qualified in therapeutic and reflective writing practices (Professional Writing Academy, 2020), and has been running poetry workshops – teaching creative writing skills, writing for wellbeing and collaborative poetry sessions – since 2019. She runs the Spoken Word tent at the Oxford Canal Festival (next one Sat 21st September 2024) and has just launched their inaugural open poetry competition, ‘The Ways of Water’, to be judged by Roy McFarlane, canal laureate (deadline Sunday 7th July).
Her poetry has been published in The Alchemy Spoon, South Bank Poetry, Spelt Magazine, and the St Magnus Festival anthology: Henge in the Surge, where she was one of the festival poets in 2017. She is finishing the first draft of her novel set in WWII Scotland and Bavaria, based on true events.
Join poets Carl Tomlinson and Kate Oldfield for a short walk through a long history as we explore Oxford’s canalside. We’ll look at places that have changed and think about places that have changed us. Away from the dreaming spires, we’ll be considering the trade and transport which shaped this area.
After our walk, there’ll be time to reflect and write. Expect good conversation and generative prompts.
All are welcome, whatever level you believe yourself to be. Just come with pen, paper and your imagination.
The workshop involves a one-hour walk*.
On Saturday 8th June, participants will meet at 11am at Makespace Central in Park End Street, OX1 (just across the road from Oxford train station and behind Lula’s Ethiopian Cuisine (a sign will guide you to the correct door). From there we shall walk up the canal towards our writing venue in Jericho.
Places are limited and booking is essential.
Fee: £40. (A concession place is available for a regular attender of Oxford Poetry Library events.)
Please bring your own tea/coffee and a packed lunch. Although there will also be plenty of venues serving the same at the beginning and end of our walk. Please wear comfortable shoes for walking a mostly flat path. Please also be prepared for British weather.
The workshop will end at 4pm in Jericho, OX2.
*If you would like to participate and have limited mobility, get in touch and we’ll discuss alternative arrangements.
Any queries to hello@kateoldfieldwrites.com.
About Carl Tomlinson
Carl Tomlinson lives on a smallholding in rural Oxfordshire. His poems have appeared in Orbis, South, The Alchemy Spoon, The Hope Valley Journal, Spelt, and several anthologies. His poem ‘Market Forces’ won the Shout out for the Oxford Covered Market competition, and now forms part of the market’s audio guide.
Carl’s debut pamphlet, Changing Places was published in 2021 by Fair Acre Press. Helen Mort says of it that it ‘challenge[s] us to move beyond a naïve appreciation of the ‘natural’ and recognise the ways that our landscapes have been profoundly altered by human presence’.
About Kate Oldfield
Kate Oldfield lives in Oxford. She runs writing workshops, retreats and events at The Writing Well. (www.the-writing-well.com). She has worked in publishing for over twenty years, latterly as a writing mentor, ‘book fixer’ and ghost-writer. She is qualified in therapeutic and reflective writing practices (Professional Writing Academy, 2020), and has been running poetry workshops – teaching creative writing skills, writing for wellbeing and collaborative poetry sessions – since 2019. She runs the Spoken Word tent at the Oxford Canal Festival (next one Sat 21st September 2024) and has just launched their inaugural open poetry competition, ‘The Ways of Water’, to be judged by Roy McFarlane, canal laureate (deadline Sunday 7th July).
Her poetry has been published in The Alchemy Spoon, South Bank Poetry, Spelt Magazine, and the St Magnus Festival anthology: Henge in the Surge, where she was one of the festival poets in 2017. She is finishing the first draft of her novel set in WWII Scotland and Bavaria, based on true events.
Join poets Carl Tomlinson and Kate Oldfield for a short walk through a long history as we explore Oxford’s canalside. We’ll look at places that have changed and think about places that have changed us. Away from the dreaming spires, we’ll be considering the trade and transport which shaped this area.
After our walk, there’ll be time to reflect and write. Expect good conversation and generative prompts.
All are welcome, whatever level you believe yourself to be. Just come with pen, paper and your imagination.
The workshop involves a one-hour walk*.
On Saturday 8th June, participants will meet at 11am at Makespace Central in Park End Street, OX1 (just across the road from Oxford train station and behind Lula’s Ethiopian Cuisine (a sign will guide you to the correct door). From there we shall walk up the canal towards our writing venue in Jericho.
Places are limited and booking is essential.
Fee: £40. (A concession place is available for a regular attender of Oxford Poetry Library events.)
Please bring your own tea/coffee and a packed lunch. Although there will also be plenty of venues serving the same at the beginning and end of our walk. Please wear comfortable shoes for walking a mostly flat path. Please also be prepared for British weather.
The workshop will end at 4pm in Jericho, OX2.
*If you would like to participate and have limited mobility, get in touch and we’ll discuss alternative arrangements.
Any queries to hello@kateoldfieldwrites.com.
About Carl Tomlinson
Carl Tomlinson lives on a smallholding in rural Oxfordshire. His poems have appeared in Orbis, South, The Alchemy Spoon, The Hope Valley Journal, Spelt, and several anthologies. His poem ‘Market Forces’ won the Shout out for the Oxford Covered Market competition, and now forms part of the market’s audio guide.
Carl’s debut pamphlet, Changing Places was published in 2021 by Fair Acre Press. Helen Mort says of it that it ‘challenge[s] us to move beyond a naïve appreciation of the ‘natural’ and recognise the ways that our landscapes have been profoundly altered by human presence’.
About Kate Oldfield
Kate Oldfield lives in Oxford. She runs writing workshops, retreats and events at The Writing Well. (www.the-writing-well.com). She has worked in publishing for over twenty years, latterly as a writing mentor, ‘book fixer’ and ghost-writer. She is qualified in therapeutic and reflective writing practices (Professional Writing Academy, 2020), and has been running poetry workshops – teaching creative writing skills, writing for wellbeing and collaborative poetry sessions – since 2019. She runs the Spoken Word tent at the Oxford Canal Festival (next one Sat 21st September 2024) and has just launched their inaugural open poetry competition, ‘The Ways of Water’, to be judged by Roy McFarlane, canal laureate (deadline Sunday 7th July).
Her poetry has been published in The Alchemy Spoon, South Bank Poetry, Spelt Magazine, and the St Magnus Festival anthology: Henge in the Surge, where she was one of the festival poets in 2017. She is finishing the first draft of her novel set in WWII Scotland and Bavaria, based on true events.
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This inclusive and inspirational session is for anyone interested in writing (at whatever level they believe themselves to be),
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The main sessions are led by Sophie Howarth. Sophie is an artist, writer and teacher. Her work is about deepening connection to ourselves, one another and the wider web of life, and is rooted in the belief that justice and joy go hand in hand. She is the author of several books, most recently Looking At Trees, published in October 2023.
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Live session. On Zoom.
The session opens 5 minutes before teaching so we can start promptly.
The Zoom link will be sent out some time in the 5 days before the course starts.
(If you have not received your link 24 hours before the course is due to start, please first check your spam folder, if it is not there then please contact hello@kateoldfieldwrites.com).
Please check that you have a reliable broadband signal, an internal space free from background noise, and that your microphone and camera work before the first session.
We can offer some tech advice to anyone who needs it before the course starts.
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Friday 8th December.
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10am to 12.30pm GMT
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Standard ticket £40.
Supported ticket £25.
Please self-select, knowing that those that can afford the standard price can help others in a less fortunate position to attend the course, while at the same time supporting the facilitator to your best ability.
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““Sophie brings a winning combination of enthusiasm, deep knowledge and reassurance.””
““Depth of knowledge matched by an exceptional ability to hold space.””