The Hip Crowd open mic session
2023-06-30 11:30 - 13:00 UTC | The Community Works, 21 Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HH, United Kingdom
Hey! The rumours are true. It’s…
The Hip Crowd Open Mic!
Oxford Poetry Library and Makespace Oxford bring you Oxford’s newest Open Mic event! It’s designed especially for folks with babies under one, but open to those without babies too.
If you’re feeling like daytime is the right time for you to entertain or be entertained, join us at The Community Works on the last Friday of every month. The action begins at 11.30am, but performers please do arrive from 11am to sign up for your turn on the stage.
We welcome poetry, music, storytelling, comedy and whatever else you think might dazzle in a 5-minute slot.
The entire event will be baby friendly and baby welcoming, with lots of floor space at the front, changing facilities, buggy parking area outside, and clear walkways to exit the performance area easily if needed. There will also be that most beautiful and warmly appreciated of gifts: free tea and coffee provided.
The event is non-ticketed, but costs £5 to spectate (£2 for concessions) and is totally free to performers. Cash only (there are nearby cashpoints)!
Be there or be square.

Drafting Table: workshop session
2023-07-01 13:00 - 15:00
Welcome to this new poetry writing group, where we share our emerging poems with each other and provide feedback in a safe and inclusive environment.
Maybe you have been attending the Getting Started sessions and feel ready to edit your work and develop your ideas. Maybe you’re an experienced but unpublished poet who wants to take those next steps in your poetry career. If you feel you’d like to join us, please bring along at least one unfinished, unpublished work-in-progress that you’re willing to share with the whole group. We are normally able to hear and give feedback to around 6 or 7 poets per session.
Regular attendance is encouraged, to help us build a trusting and collaborative community. Due to the popularity of these sessions please book in advance here: https://DraftingTable.eventbrite.com
Feel free to email queries to opldraftingtable@gmail.com
We meet:
1-3pm
First Saturday of every month at The Community Works

21 Park End Street OX1 1HH

Book Launch: The New Poets’ Prize 2023
2023-07-02 17:00 - 19:00 | The Community Works, 21 Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HH, United Kingdom
Join us as we celebrate the launch of the Poetry Business New Poets’ Prize pamphlets 2023. This years’ winners are Serena Alagappan, Tom Branfoot, Chloe Elliott and Beth Davies, chosen by judge Anthony Anaxagorou.
This is a free event but registration is recommended, by booking here!
The New Poets Prize is a pamphlet competition for writers between the ages of 17 and 24 established in 2016 by The Poetry Business. Previous winners include Phoebe Stuckes, Sarah Fletcher, Jay Gao and Gboyega Odubanjo.
Serena Alagappan’s Sensitive to Temperature seeks out the precariousness and sensitivities of language, as well as the fragilities of the world it represents. These are eco-poems that experience time on a human and non-human scale, from the movements of rock to the sources of rivers.
Chloe Elliot’s Encyclopaedia is playful and visceral, exploring boundaries of identity and the search for meaning in poems that delight with richly tactile language. Formally varied, these poems are unflinching in their physicality.
Tom Branfoot’s This is Not an Epiphany examines inner and outer landscapes that have become inhospitable; where people are ‘burnt / by business as usual’. This collection is attentive to shifting landscapes where warehouses spring up on empty land, and the incremental austerities that constitute our living; its lyric absorbs the shocks and crises of survival within them.
Beth Davies’ The Pretence of Understanding explores loss, not just of loved ones but of youth and adolescence. In these poems where time can stand still or run backwards, the reader finds themselves caught in longing moments of looking back at childhood; they remind us to run in the snow while we get the chance.

LIT Reading Group- July in Person
2023-07-03 19:30 - 21:30 | The Community Works, 21 Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HH, United Kingdom
Got started with poetry but not sure where to go next? Need some support and feedback for a specific piece of writing that is bugging you right now? Just looking for a friendly, low-pressure space to hang out and chat with folks who love words as much as you do?
Why not join us at LIT?
We are a reading and writing group for cis and trans women, trans men, non-binary people, and people of other minority genders to share their own work and the work of others. We take the broadest, most inclusive interpretation of what this means- if you feel like you might fit with us, you probably do!
We are a group of writers who host twice-monthly friendly sessions around different themes. We meet in person and online.
For more information about us, you can read our statement of aims and values on our group page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/223789834941256 or email francesca_moll@hotmail.co.uk to request to join our WhatsApp group.
This is the event for our July in person session. There’s no need to book or buy tickets- feel free just to turn up!

This Is Just To Say: spoken word open mic
2023-07-04 19:30 - 22:00 | The Community Works, 21 Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HH, United Kingdom
Join us in the library on the first Tuesday of every month to enjoy all manner of word-weaving, story-sharing and spell-casting.
We welcome poets, storytellers, and writers of all kinds to share their work (or the work of others) in a safe, supportive, and inclusive space.
Slots are 5 minutes long, and performers sign up on the door – first come, first served! Performers entry is free!
This month, the theme of the evening is METAMORPHOSIS. We’re thinking about changing states, shifting and morphing, becoming something else – either literally or figuratively!

Every month we feature a performer with a slightly extended set and this month’s featured performer to grace our stage is Matilda Leyser. Matilda grew up in Oxfordshire, in a family of eccentric academics. She read English Literature at King’s College, London and then ran away to join the circus. She trained as an aerialist, working up a rope, collaborating with dance and theatre companies, making her own work, and performing in diverse venues, including the National Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe, and the Royal Opera House. After ten years in the air, she decided to come down to earth and take up the far more dangerous act of writing on the ground. She has two children, and is the founder and director of an international movement for creative mothers and carers called M/Others Who Make. She also works as an associate director with Improbable a world-renowned theatre company. No Season but the Summer is her first novel.
All very welcome to just come and listen. This event is non-ticketed, with entry £5 on the door (£2 concessions/Patreon patrons).
Doors at 7.30pm (performers advised to arrive a little earlier!)
There will be a bar at this event, so it is no longer BYOB!

The Poetry Door: "Disability Justice & Signed/Deaf Poetry"
2023-07-08 13:30 - 15:00 | The Community Works, 21 Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HH, United Kingdom
In these workshops, we will consider how poetry can be a tool for self-expression and social justice, for empathy, and empowerment.
Everyone has something valuable to express and poetry can help us process our own experiences and learn about the experiences of others. Through readings, interactive exercises, group writing games, and generative prompts, we will explore the power and joy of writing together. We’ll be working in a variety of forms, inspired by a diverse set of voices and themes. Looking forward to collaborating with you all and seeing your beautiful words!

These sessions will be led by Serena Alagappan. Serena is a writer and researcher interested in the impact of creative writing on society. She has studied at Princeton and Oxford Universities and published her work in literary journals across the US and UK.

This workshop is for anyone aged 13+. No experience with poetry is required, and all materials will be provided. Let us know you’re coming by booking a ticket HERE.

The Oxford Poetry Library is an accessible space but please contact us in advance if you have any access needs so we can accommodate those for you. You can email us on oxfordpoetrylibrary@gmail.com or use the contact form below.

← Back Thank you for your response. ✨

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Message

Submit

Δ

Getting Started With Poetry
2023-07-10 19:00 - 20:30 | The Community Works, 21 Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HH, United Kingdom
Whether you’ve never written a poem before, have just started to write, or aren’t sure if what you’re writing is poetry, this monthly workshop is a chance to carve out some time for writing.
In each workshop, we’ll read a poem together, and use it as our starting point. We’ll suggest some prompts you could take from the poem, and ideas you might like to borrow. There will be plenty of time to write, and plenty more prompts if you get stuck. At the end of the session, you’ll be able to share what you’ve written in a supportive environment.
All you need to bring is yourself – these workshops are here for you to enjoy writing and build confidence in your voice. The workshop is open to anyone aged 16+.
Tell us you’re coming by booking a ticket here.
The Oxford Poetry Library is an accessible space but please do contact us in advance if you have specific requirements. You can email us about this or with any questions about the workshop at oxfordpoetrylibary@gmail.com

OPL @ Oxford Indie Book Fair
2023-07-16 | Magdalen College School
We will be popping up with our big purple cargo bike at the Oxford Indie Book Fair offering at the Oxford Festival of Arts Family and Community Day on Sunday 16 July from 11am-4pm! We’ll be in the Magdalen College School Grounds on The Plain – drop by and say hi, all welcome and all for free.
Let’s dive back into the rich world of fairy tales by following in Little Red Riding Hood’s footsteps and taking our revenge on the bloodthirsty wolf with the Waterperry Opera troup and their take on Roald Dahl’s wit. Music will also be in the air, and not just any kind: the bagpipes of the Scots Guards join us to enchant and thrill, while Highland dancers set the tone. And that’s not all! Don’t forget to venture under the marquee, transformed for the occasion into an Aladdin’s Cave of Wonders: the Oxford Indie Book Fair (oxib) will welcome you along with publishers, local authors and historians, professional illustrators and poets, Environmental Oxford and the Oxford Children’s Book Group, to share an entertaining and instructive moment. Let yourself be surprised by the dazzling beauty of Poetry Slams and pop-up storytelling!
This is also the day to discover your artistic talents and strategic skills with butterfly craft, among other art workshops, as well as a chess tournament. Participants’ identities will remain confidential, according to your wishes: masquerade costumes and face-painting will be on hand. The whole event will be wrapped up in songs for everyone to sing along to and the Story Museum’s Talking Throne will be waiting for Queens and Kings to honor!
Find out more here!

LIT Reading Group- July Online
2023-07-17 19:30 - 21:30 | Online
Got started with poetry but not sure where to go next? Need some support and feedback for a specific piece of writing that is bugging you right now? Just looking for a friendly, low-pressure space to hang out and chat with folks who love words as much as you do?
Why not join us at LIT?
We are a reading and writing group for cis and trans women, trans men, non-binary people, and people of other minority genders to share their own work and the work of others. We take the broadest, most inclusive interpretation of what this means- if you feel like you might fit with us, you probably do!
We are a group of writers who host twice-monthly friendly sessions around different themes. We meet in person and online.
For more information about us, you can read our statement of aims and values on our group page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/223789834941256 or email francesca_moll@hotmail.co.uk to request to join our WhatsApp group.
This is the event for our July online session. There’s no need to book or buy tickets- feel free just to join us on the zoom link here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85006693701?pwd=[REDACTED]

The Hip Crowd open mic session
2023-07-28 11:30 - 13:00 | The Community Works, 21 Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HH, United Kingdom
Hey! The rumours are true. It’s…
The Hip Crowd Open Mic!
Oxford Poetry Library and Makespace Oxford bring you Oxford’s newest Open Mic event especially for folks with babes-in-arms, but also open to all and everyone.
If you’re feeling like daytime is the right time for you to entertain or be entertained, join us at The Community Works on the last Friday of every month. The action begins at 11.30am, but performers please do arrive from 11am to sign up for your turn on the stage.
We welcome poetry, music, storytelling, comedy and whatever else you think might dazzle in a 5-minute slot.
The entire event will be baby friendly and baby welcoming, with lots of floor space at the front, changing facilities, buggy parking area outside, and clear walkways to exit the performance area easily if needed. There will also be that most beautiful and warmly appreciated of gifts: free tea and coffee provided.
The event is non-ticketed, but costs £5 to spectate (£2 for concessions) and is totally free to performers. Cash only (there are nearby cashpoints)!
Be there or be square.

Drafting Table: performance session
2023-07-30 13:00 - 15:00 | Gulp Fiction, Covered Market, Oxford, OX1 3DU, United Kingdom
All are welcome to this new poetry writing group, where we will share our emerging poems with each other and provide feedback in a safe and inclusive environment.
Maybe you have been attending the Getting Started sessions and feel ready to edit your work and develop your ideas. Maybe you’re an experienced but unpublished poet who wants to take those next steps in your poetry career. There are no minimum requirements for joining, poets of all abilities and backgrounds can attend, just bring a willingness to receive and provide feedback!
Once a month, we will invite a published poet to join us at Gulp Fiction bookstore. There will be a short public reading of their poems followed by a workshop where attendees can learn more about the creative process, get an insight into what it means to be a poet, and share our work with each other. July’s poet is Vanessa Lampert. Vanessa had her first poem published in 2019 at the age of 55. So excited by this was she that she kept at it and has since won the Café Writers prize, the Edward Thomas prize, the Sentinel prize and the Ver Poetry prize twice and come second in the Fish, Yeovil, Oxford Brookes, Ware, and Kent & Sussex prizes. She was commended in the National Poetry Competition 2020 and listed in 2021. She co-edits The Alchemy Spoon magazine and has taught children in schools and for Learn with Leaders in India. She has run workshops for Hive, South Yorkshire, Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, Poetry School London and Stanza groups nationwide. Her first full collection ‘Say It With Me’ was published by Seren in April 2023 and is nominated for The Forward First Collection prize.
Please note that workshops are limited to 20 attendees in the upstairs space, so get there early to avoid disappointment. Feel free to email any queries to opldraftingtable@gmail.com

This Is Just To Say: spoken word open mic
2023-08-01 19:30 - 22:00 | The Community Works, 21 Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HH, United Kingdom
Join us in the library on the first Tuesday of every month to enjoy all manner of word-weaving, story-sharing and spell-casting.
We welcome poets, storytellers, and writers of all kinds to share their work (or the work of others) in a safe, supportive, and inclusive space.
Slots are 5 minutes long, and performers sign up on the door – first come, first served! Performers entry is free!
This month, the theme of the evening is THE FUTURE. Jetpacks and cryogenic freezing? Climate crisis dystopias? Hopeful utopias? What you’re having for breakfast tomorrow? We want your visions of the future, whatever that means to you.
Every month we feature a performer with a slightly extended set and this month’s featured performer to grace our stage is Owen Collins. Owen is a performance poet who believes in socialism, love at first sight, and not having to pay to use the toilet at major railway termini. He has shouted his poetry in pubs, at punk nights and on picket lines, been support act for both Madness and a member of the House of Lords, and his work has been taught in schools from Chichester to Hamburg. He finds this as surprising as you probably do.
All very welcome to just come and listen. This event is non-ticketed, with entry £5 on the door (£2 concessions/Patreon patrons).
Doors at 7.30pm (performers advised to arrive a little earlier, from 7pm!)
There will be a bar at this event, so it is no longer BYOB!

Drafting Table: workshop session
2023-08-05 13:00 - 15:00, 2023-09-02 13:00 - 15:00 | The Community Works, 21 Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HH, United Kingdom

LIT Reading Group - August in Person
2023-08-07 19:30 - 21:30 | The Community Works, 21 Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HH, United Kingdom
Got started with poetry but not sure where to go next? Need some support and feedback for a specific piece of writing that is bugging you right now? Just looking for a friendly, low-pressure space to hang out and chat with folks who love words as much as you do?
Why not join us at LIT?
We are a reading and writing group for cis and trans women, trans men, non-binary people, and people of other minority genders to share their own work and the work of others. We take the broadest, most inclusive interpretation of what this means- if you feel like you might fit with us, you probably do!
We are a group of writers who host twice-monthly friendly sessions around different themes. We meet in person and online.
For more information about us, you can read our statement of aims and values on our group page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/223789834941256 or email francesca_moll@hotmail.co.uk to request to join our WhatsApp group.
This is the event for our August in person session. There’s no need to book or buy tickets- feel free just to turn up!

The Poetry Door: Protest & Resistance
2023-08-12 13:30 - 15:00 | The Community Works, 21 Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HH, United Kingdom
In these workshops, we will consider how poetry can be a tool for self-expression and social justice, for empathy, and empowerment.
Everyone has something valuable to express and poetry can help us process our own experiences and learn about the experiences of others. Through readings, interactive exercises, group writing games, and generative prompts, we will explore the power and joy of writing together. We’ll be working in a variety of forms, inspired by a diverse set of voices and themes. Looking forward to collaborating with you all and seeing your beautiful words!

These sessions will be led by Serena Alagappan. Serena is a writer and researcher interested in the impact of creative writing on society. She has studied at Princeton and Oxford Universities and published her work in literary journals across the US and UK.

This workshop is for anyone aged 13+. No experience with poetry is required, and all materials will be provided.

The Oxford Poetry Library is an accessible space but please contact us in advance if you have any access needs so we can accommodate those for you. You can email us on oxfordpoetrylibrary@gmail.com or use the contact form below.

Getting Started With Poetry: Dreaming
2023-08-14 19:00 - 20:30 | The Community Works, 21 Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HH, United Kingdom
Whether you’ve never written a poem before, have just started to write, or aren’t sure if what you’re writing is poetry, this monthly workshop is a chance to carve out some time for writing.
In each workshop, we’ll read a poem together, and use it as our starting point. We’ll suggest some prompts you could take from the poem, and ideas you might like to borrow. There will be plenty of time to write, and plenty more prompts if you get stuck. At the end of the session, you’ll be able to share what you’ve written in a supportive environment.
All you need to bring is yourself – these workshops are here for you to enjoy writing and build confidence in your voice. The workshop is open to anyone aged 16+.
This month’s workshop is themed around dreaming. We’ll be thinking about how dreamscapes in poems can free us up to write about the knotty and unclear.
Tell us you’re coming by booking a ticket here.
The Oxford Poetry Library is an accessible space but please do contact us in advance if you have specific requirements. You can email us about this or with any questions about the workshop at oxfordpoetrylibary@gmail.com

Stillness in Words Workshop
2023-08-20 13:30 - 15:00 | Online
A workshop series on poetry and mindfulness
We live in a world full of distractions. In today’s fast-paced digital world, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to be mindful. Writing poetry can be a powerful mindfulness activity because it allows you to explore yourself, your thoughts and feelings and your surroundings. Writing poetry can also help steer you away from self-focused thoughts and open your mind to new ways of seeing things.
From August to November 2023, Oxford Poetry Library will be running the Stillness in Words poetry and mindfulness workshop series on the 3rd Sunday of each month from 1.30 to 3.00 p.m. London Time or 6 p.m. Indian Standard Time.
The workshop will be facilitated by Prarthana Banikya, one of the volunteers at Oxford Poetry Library. Prarthana is a poet and editor with over 12 years of experience in the learning design industry. She has a graduate’s degree in Sociology and a certificate in poetry from the London School of Journalism. Her writings, photographs and initiatives have appeared in Scroll, Homegrown, Mid-Day, Architectural Digest, Asia Writes, Feminism India, Namnai and Stories of the Nature of Cities, among others. She is the recipient of the 2018 Orange Flower Award for poetry and the founder and editor of The Little Journal of Northeast India.
The workshop sessions will help you explore the relationship between writing and mindfulness through practical writing prompts and guided learning activities. The workshop will focus more on poetry as a medium of expression and less on poetic form.
The sessions are free and suitable for anyone over the age of 16. While each session will cover different themes and activities, you could enrol for all four sessions or any that work well for you. No previous experience of writing poetry is needed.
Let us know you are coming by registering for free here
Please email us at oxfordpoetrylibrary@gmail.com if you have any questions about the workshop.

LIT Reading Group- August Online
2023-08-21 19:30 - 21:30 | Online
Got started with poetry but not sure where to go next? Need some support and feedback for a specific piece of writing that is bugging you right now? Just looking for a friendly, low-pressure space to hang out and chat with folks who love words as much as you do?
Why not join us at LIT?
We are a reading and writing group for cis and trans women, trans men, non-binary people, and people of other minority genders to share their own work and the work of others. We take the broadest, most inclusive interpretation of what this means- if you feel like you might fit with us, you probably do!
We are a group of writers who host twice-monthly friendly sessions around different themes. We meet in person and online.
For more information about us, you can read our statement of aims and values on our group page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/223789834941256 or email francesca_moll@hotmail.co.uk to request to join our WhatsApp group.
This is the event for our August online session. There’s no need to book or buy tickets- feel free just to join us on the zoom link here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85006693701?pwd=[REDACTED]

Drafting Table: performance session
2023-08-27 01:00 - 15:00 | Gulp Fiction, Covered Market, Oxford, OX1 3DU, United Kingdom
All are welcome to this new poetry writing group, where we will share our emerging poems with each other and provide feedback in a safe and inclusive environment.
Maybe you have been attending the Getting Started sessions and feel ready to edit your work and develop your ideas. Maybe you’re an experienced but unpublished poet who wants to take those next steps in your poetry career. There are no minimum requirements for joining, poets of all abilities and backgrounds can attend, just bring a willingness to receive and provide feedback!
Once a month, we will invite a published poet to join us at Gulp Fiction bookstore. There will be a short public reading of their poems followed by a workshop where attendees can learn more about the creative process, get an insight into what it means to be a poet, and share our work with each other. August’s poet is Sophie Sparham. Sophie is a poet and writer from Derby. They have written commissions for BBC Radio 4, The V&A and The People’s History Museum. They host the night Word Wise which won best spoken word night at the 2019 Saboteur Awards. Their latest collection ‘The Man Who Ate 50,000 Weetabix’ came out in April 2021 via Verve Poetry Press. Sophie’s work has been published in Orbis, Under the Radar and The Morning Star. Their poem Sunrise Over Aldi won third place in the 2020 Charles Causley International Poetry Competition. Sophie has been longlisted and shortlisted for the Outspoken Award for page poetry. They co-direct Derby Poetry Festival.
Please note that workshops are limited to 20 attendees in the upstairs space, so get there early to avoid disappointment. Feel free to email any queries to opldraftingtable@gmail.com

LIT Reading Group- September in Person
2023-09-04 19:30 - 21:30 | The Community Works, 21 Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HH, United Kingdom
Got started with poetry but not sure where to go next? Need some support and feedback for a specific piece of writing that is bugging you right now? Just looking for a friendly, low-pressure space to hang out and chat with folks who love words as much as you do?
Why not join us at LIT?
We are a reading and writing group for cis and trans women, trans men, non-binary people, and people of other minority genders to share their own work and the work of others. We take the broadest, most inclusive interpretation of what this means- if you feel like you might fit with us, you probably do!
We are a group of writers who host twice-monthly friendly sessions around different themes. We meet in person and online.
For more information about us, you can read our statement of aims and values on our group page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/223789834941256 or email francesca_moll@hotmail.co.uk to request to join our WhatsApp group.
This is the event for our September in person session. There’s no need to book or buy tickets- feel free just to turn up!

This Is Just to Say: spoken word open mic
2023-09-05 19:30 - 22:00 | The Community Works, 21 Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HH, United Kingdom
Join us in the library on the first Tuesday of every month to enjoy all manner of word-weaving, story-sharing and spell-casting.
We welcome poets, storytellers, and writers of all kinds to share their work (or the work of others) in a safe, supportive, and inclusive space.
Slots are 5 minutes long, and performers sign up on the door – first come, first served! Performers entry is free!
This month, the theme of the evening is INVITATIONS. An invitation to write invitingly – think about all the ways we let people into our homes, hearts, parties, social gatherings. Literal and figurative invitations are all warmly invited!
Every month we feature a performer with a slightly extended set and this month’s featured performer to grace our stage is Lorna Burchell. Lorna deals in tall tales, the wild and the weird and most frequently the comedic. Her poems and stories cover topics such as discarded toe nails, adventures on public transport, rat kings and queer vampire romance – all delivered with a philosophical sweetness that may leave a delightfully sticky residue on her audience. Lorna has trained at the International School of Storytelling and worked with a variety of talented mentors over the years to hone her performance skills. She runs workshops and performs wherever anyone gives her the space to. Her main purpose in life is to bring joy and connection to people by entertaining the shit out of them.
All very welcome to just come and listen. This event is non-ticketed, with entry £5 on the door (£2 concessions/Patreon patrons) – cash only!
Doors at 7.30pm (performers advised to arrive a little earlier, from 7pm)
There will be a bar at this event provided by Lula’s Ethiopian Cuisine, so it is no longer BYOB!

The Shape of Poetry workshop
2023-09-09 13:00 - 14:30 | The Community Works, 21 Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HH, United Kingdom
Many of us feel intimidated by formal poetry: Some of us consider it too restrictive and governed by rules, while others write exclusively in form. This workshop is an invitation to all writers of poetry, whether you’re just starting out or have been writing for years, to explore the creative potential of poetic forms.
Our monthly sessions happen on the second Saturday of the month from 1pm til 2.30pm in The Community Works. During each of our workshops, we will look at the conventions of a particular form such as the sonnet, ghazal, or haiku, read example poems, and write our own versions. This workshop will be a collaborative space for us to explore how experimenting with limitations or restrictions in our writing can give us whole new ways of expressing ourselves, and open unexpected doors!

All you need to bring is yourself – pens and paper will be supplied. The workshop is open to anyone aged 16+.

Attendance is free, but please do register in advance here to let us know you’re coming.

The Oxford Poetry Library is an accessible space but please do contact us in advance if you have specific requirements. You can email us about this or with any questions about the workshop at oxfordpoetrylibary@gmail.com

Saudha International Literature Festival showcase
2023-09-09 15:00 - 18:00 | The Community Works, 21 Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HH, United Kingdom
Join OPL and Saudha for an afternoon of poetry, art, and expression!
On September 9th, from 3pm til 6pm at The Community Works we will be collaborating with Saudha Society of Poetry and Indian Music for a free afternoon of creativity. This festival preaches the art and beauty of imagination, languages from different cultural heritages through talks, reading, and performances.
Saudha brings new literature from different languages and different cultural heritages through this unique festival happening all around the UK.
Curated by poet Ahmed Kaysher, in collaboration with Oxford Poetry Library and Oxford-based literary magazine La Ninfa Eco, this afternoon will feature haunting spoken-word performances from medieval and pre-medieval manuscripts of different languages (with English translation), brief poetry-theatres (theatrical presentations of poetry), readings by contemporary poets from different cultural heritages (with English translation), and talks on new literature and new movements.
Saudha Society of Poetry and Indian Music is a leading platform for South Asian as well other global classical arts. Saudha is critically acclaimed for its series of experimental productions merging poetry, music and painting seamlessly so that each can complement each other. Saudha has attracted a diverse source of audiences from all different heritages through its series of presentations of mingling and bridging different arts from different corners of the world as the way of interpreting each other.
The event is free but please register here so we know you’re coming!

About Saudha
Saudha’s production Frida Kahlo Through Indian Classical Music at the Royal Albert Hall has been highly praised by prominent ethno-musicologists, music and literature connoisseurs of the city and beyond. Saudha’s Lyrics of Love at the SouthBank Centre and at Edinburgh Fringe, Chayanaut through Sebastian Bach at the House of Commons, Taste of Twilight at ICCR, Kolkata and the Welsh Parliament were critically acclaimed by major media and musicologists.
During the pandemic, Saudha took the historic initiative to connect leading musicians, writers, poets, painters and filmmakers from all across the world through virtual platforms, an initiative hugely appreciated by the international audiences.

LIT Reading Group- September Online
2023-09-18 19:30 - 21:30 | Online
Got started with poetry but not sure where to go next? Need some support and feedback for a specific piece of writing that is bugging you right now? Just looking for a friendly, low-pressure space to hang out and chat with folks who love words as much as you do?
Why not join us at LIT?
We are a reading and writing group for cis and trans women, trans men, non-binary people, and people of other minority genders to share their own work and the work of others. We take the broadest, most inclusive interpretation of what this means- if you feel like you might fit with us, you probably do!
We are a group of writers who host twice-monthly friendly sessions around different themes. We meet in person and online.
For more information about us, you can read our statement of aims and values on our group page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/223789834941256 or email francesca_moll@hotmail.co.uk to request to join our WhatsApp group.
This is the event for our September online session. There’s no need to book or buy tickets- feel free just to join us on the zoom link here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85006693701?pwd=[REDACTED]

Drafting Table: performance session
2023-09-24 13:00 - 15:00 | The Community Works, 21 Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HH, United Kingdom
Welcome to Drafting Table, where we share our emerging poems with each other and provide feedback in a safe and inclusive environment.
Maybe you have been attending the Getting Started sessions and feel ready to edit your work and develop your ideas. Maybe you’re an experienced but unpublished poet who wants to take those next steps in your poetry career. Just bring a willingness to receive and provide feedback with the whole group!
Once a month, we invite a published poet to join us. There will be a short reading of their poems followed by a workshop where attendees can learn more about the creative process, get an insight into what it means to be a poet, and share our work with them.
September’s poet is Serena Alagappan. Serena received her A.B. in comparative literature and creative writing from Princeton University in 2020. She then studied anthropology and literature at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. She has edited poetry for the 30th annual Mays Anthology and the Oxford Review of Books. Her poems have appeared in The London Magazine, The American Journal of Poetry, Stand Magazine, and elsewhere. A recipient of the 2022 New Poets Prize, her pamphlet ‘Sensitive to Temperature’ was published by The Poetry Business under the Smith|Doorstop imprint in June.
Please note that workshops are limited to 15 attendees, so please book your free ticket here in advance to avoid disappointment. Feel free to email any queries to opldraftingtable@gmail.com

Stillness in Words Workshop
2023-09-24 13:30 - 15:00 | Online
A workshop series on poetry and mindfulness
We live in a world full of distractions. In today’s fast-paced digital world, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to be mindful. Writing poetry can be a powerful mindfulness activity because it allows you to explore yourself, your thoughts and feelings and your surroundings. Writing poetry can also help steer you away from self-focused thoughts and open your mind to new ways of seeing things.
From August to November 2023, Oxford Poetry Library will be running the Stillness in Words poetry and mindfulness workshop series on the 3rd Sunday of each month from 1.30 to 3.00 p.m. London Time or 6 p.m. Indian Standard Time.
The workshop will be facilitated by Prarthana Banikya, one of the volunteers at Oxford Poetry Library. Prarthana is a poet and editor with over 12 years of experience in the learning design industry. She has a graduate’s degree in Sociology and a certificate in poetry from the London School of Journalism. Her writings, photographs and initiatives have appeared in Scroll, Homegrown, Mid-Day, Architectural Digest, Asia Writes, Feminism India, Namnai and Stories of the Nature of Cities, among others. She is the recipient of the 2018 Orange Flower Award for poetry and the founder and editor of The Little Journal of Northeast India.
The workshop sessions will help you explore the relationship between writing and mindfulness through practical writing prompts and guided learning activities. The workshop will focus more on poetry as a medium of expression and less on poetic form.
The sessions are free and suitable for anyone over the age of 16. While each session will cover different themes and activities, you could enrol for all four sessions or any that work well for you. No previous experience of writing poetry is needed.
Please let us know you are coming by registering here.
Please email us at oxfordpoetrylibrary@gmail.com if you have any questions about the workshop.

The Hip Crowd open mic session
2023-09-29 11:30 - 13:00 | The Community Works, 21 Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HH, United Kingdom
Hey! The rumours are true. It’s…
The Hip Crowd Open Mic!

Oxford Poetry Library and Makespace Oxford bring you Oxford’s newest Open Mic event especially for folks with babes-in-arms, but also open to all and everyone.

If you’re feeling like daytime is the right time for you to entertain or be entertained, join us at The Community Works on the last Friday of every month. The action begins at 11.30am, but performers please do arrive from 11am to sign up for your turn on the stage.

We welcome poetry, music, storytelling, comedy and whatever else you think might dazzle in a 5-minute slot

The entire event will be baby friendly and baby welcoming, with lots of floor space at the front, changing facilities, buggy parking area outside, and clear walkways to exit the performance area easily if needed. There will also be that most beautiful and warmly appreciated of gifts: free tea and coffee provided.

The event is non-ticketed, but costs £5 to spectate (£2 for concessions) and is totally free to performers. Cash only (there are nearby cashpoints)!

Be there or be square.

Page to Stage Workshop
2023-09-30 13:00 - 15:00 | The Community Works, 21 Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HH, United Kingdom
If you’d like to learn how to take poetry and writing off the page and onto the stage with skill and confidence, Page to Stage is the place for you.
This mini-series of performance training workshops covers some key skills you’ll need to perform writing for an audience. We’ll be focusing mainly on poetry, but if you have something else in mind, please contact us to check in.
It will be a welcoming and inclusive space, particularly suited those who are starting their journeys or have a little experience and want to step it up.
You’re welcome to attend just one or the whole set to have more time and space to hone your craft.
Sessions will be led by Lorna Burchell, professional storyteller and performance poet.
Session time: Two hours
Participant numbers: Limited to 10
Price: Free, but booking is essential here

Session 1: Getting texts off pages and onto stages
This workshop will help you take the step from the written word to the spoken. Bring your own poem or work with one provided and learn a variety of performing skills and techniques.
By the end of the session, you’ll have performed in front of a small and supportive group and received live encouragement, feedback and coaching.
We’ll cover:
Using your voice effectively, pace and pausing; mood/mode; engaging with an audience; stance and body language and anything else that will help you perform with increased confidence.
You’ll need: your own text if you have one (one will be provided if you don’t!)

LIT Reading Group: Exploring Land & Grief
2023-10-02 19:30 - 21:30 | The Old Fire Sation, 40 George St, Oxford, OX1 2AQ
Dig out your favourite notebook and your most trusted ink pen on 2 October, it’s poetry night at the Old Fire Station!

Join us for a very special LIT Reading Group session in our literary exploration of themes mirroring two exhibitions currently hosted at the Old Fire Station:

1) The interconnection between land, people, justice and ecology with Land Justice Oxfordshire;
2) Life, Death and Grief intertwined with “How Do You Feel Today” by Helen Packerman.

Beyond the page: transcend the veil between worlds and come to see where your words will land!

All or no experience with writing is welcome.

Venue details:
Old Fire Station
40 George Street
OX1 2AQ

What is LIT Reading Group?
We are a reading and writing group for cis and trans women, trans men, non-binary people, and people of other minority genders to share their own work and the work of others. We take the broadest, most inclusive interpretation of what this means- if you feel like you might fit with us, you probably do!
We are a group of writers who host twice-monthly friendly sessions around different themes. We meet in person and online.
For more information about us, you can read our statement of aims and values on our group page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/223789834941256 or email francesca_moll@hotmail.co.uk to request to join our WhatsApp group.
This is the event for our October in person session. There’s no need to book or buy tickets- feel free just to turn up!
