Sea Poetry Workshop

Come and create poetry inspired by the sea - dive right in!

This workshop takes the sea as our starting point and will draw on our own joyful memories and experiences in and around the coastline. A series of exercises will strengthen our creative muscles and get us putting pen to paper together. We will add sensory elements to our poems by using natural objects and visual prompts. Anyone – anyone! – can create poetry and gift it to themselves in their own unique voice. Whether you’ve written poetry before or are simply interested in trying something new, this workshop is open to all. Let’s drift away on an ocean of words…

This poetry workshop is led by Ella Walsworth-Bell, creator of Morvoren sea swimming poetry anthology, and Kate Barden.

Ella Walsworth-Bell is an NHS speech therapist working within children’s mental health. She took an adult education evening class in creative writing and hasn’t looked back since. Every year, she lives aboard a boat with her family, and this reconnects her to nature. Her poetry and short stories have been published in Leon Literary Review, Indigo Dreams, Public Sector Poetry. She won Cornwall Creatives South West Short story competition 2021 and placed second in the Perito Prize Short story competition 2022.

Kate Barden has lived in West Cornwall all her life, and is embarrassed to confess that she has only tried surfing twice. Her poetry is published online, in a book for The Compassionate Friends, and as part of Morvoren; a collaboration of poems about women who swim in the sea. She has co-written, directed and acted in various pieces of theatre with local companies, taking one piece to the Edinburgh Fringe. Kate has played at The Minack Theatre, Penlee Park and The Acorn. She also took part in Henry VI with the Hall for Cornwall and the RSC. Kate occasionally sings in an 80s covers band, collects tattoos, swims in the sea and rides pillion on a Harley. Since starting this project, she has decided to give surfing a proper go, dreckly.