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The Birth of a Poem with Lyn Chatham

Writers' Workshop presented by Geelong Regional Libraries

This workshop will take participants through the birth of a poem, "Joe's Tastings", through the facilitator's lived experience of a wine-tasting event.

Where do poems come from? Do you just wait for inspiration to come? Or do you need to be walking in the Otways, smelling that tangy scent of the bush? Well, no. You may certainly feel poetic after communing in nature, or after watching a David Attenborough documentary, but poems can come from events, relationships - in fact, anything at all.

Participants in this workshop will have a chance to view the initial notes for this poem, the drafts of the poem, and the revisions made before the poem was submitted for publication. And to take part in a discussion as to see why certain creative decisions were made.

Participants will then be guided through initial exercises for their own poem. The workshop is suitable for beginners or those who would just like to join in a discussion of another’s creative process, and who are then happy to model that poem for their work. 

Lyn Chatham is currently completing an MA in Writing and Literature at Deakin University. In 2022 her essay on keeping a writing notebook was published in Meanjin and her book reviews have been published in the ecojournal, Plumwood Mountain. In 2018 her poetry chapbook, Artisan, was published by Melbourne Poets Union, and in 2005 her memoir of a Winchelsea resident, Martino’s Story, was shortlisted in the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards.

This three hour workshop will include a short break. Tea and coffee will be provided.

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