City Poetry

Explore language and landscape in this poetry masterclass series led by poet Anna Woodford. 

Join us for a poetry masterclass series inspired by the Farrell Centre’s Ideal City project. Focusing on one of the project’s exhibitions, Keep on the Grass, we will work from the urban landscape finding poetic inspiration in unsung places – from road signs to public footpaths and much more.

Over the course of four sessions, facilitator and poet Anna Woodford will guide you through a series of writing exercises, prompts and walks to expand your writing practice. Open to all levels, this four-part series will help you develop your poetic voice, try new techniques, and look at your surroundings with fresh eyes.

25 October – Session 1: An Introduction

Meet your fellow writers, take a tour of the Farrell Centre Ideal City project with its curators, and dive into your first creative prompts.

8 November – Session 2: Looking Out

This workshop will focus on observation and language, looking to the world around us for inspiration. We will be exploring the work of other writers and partaking in a short walk.

22 November – Session 3: Looking In

In this session we turn our attention inward. Exploring our responses to text within the urban landscapes and public space.

6 December 2025 – Session 4: Development & Sharing

Refine your work with one-to-one tutorials with poet and facilitator Anna, and share your poems in an open, supportive space.

Booking

• The cost for the course is £80.00
• The course is open to all levels.
• These masterclasses are designed to be informal spaces to share ideas, chat and ask questions. If you have any questions about the course, please email hello@farrellcentre.org.uk
• Please note that you must be able to attend all four sessions as refunds cannot be issued

About the Facilitator

Anna Woodford is the author of six poetry books and pamphlets. Her latest book Everything is Present (Salt, 2025) has just been published. She has had her poems displayed on buses in Newcastle and York and on the Tyne & Wear Metro. She has held poetry residencies at Alnwick Garden, the Tyne & Wear Fire & Rescue Service, Durham University and the Blue Mountain Centre in New York).

Anna Woodford is a Royal Literary Fund (RLF) Fellow, and the RLF are kindly supporting part of this Masterclass series.

www.annawoodford.co.uk