Session information
In this webinar for teachers of English at lower and upper secondary levels, Bohdan Piasecki will share his poetic and pedagogic practice to provide a toolkit of exercises and techniques designed to nurture creative thinking and expression in the classroom.
Together, we will model several activities that provide ways into poetry suitable for both novice poets and those who have written before. These approaches will use different starting points – including visual materials, memories and identity, voice and language, metaphor, and movement – to account for varied groups and different creative processes. We will also explore possibilities for group writing while inviting teachers to share their own practice in a supportive and inspiring environment.
How can I register?
Priority will be given to teachers of English working at lower secondary and upper secondary state schools in Germany. Capacity is limited to 60 participants, and registration is required in advance on a first-come, first-served basis. If you would like to take part, please complete the registration form as soon as possible and no later than 17 March. We will confirm your place after that, and a link with the joining instructions will follow on the day directly before the event.
About the speaker
Bohdan Piasecki is a poet who thrives on the energy of the live encounter. Originally from Poland, where he founded the country’s first poetry slam, he now lives and writes in Birmingham. His poems have a habit of turning up in unexpected places, including an airfield in Berlin, a bookshop in Beijing, an underground club in Tokyo, an upstairs room in an Eastbourne pub ... This commitment to the stage led to him winning the first-ever Forward Prize for Best Single Poem: Performed in 2023.
Bohdan’s practice is rooted in the belief that poetry is a shared act. He has spent years producing the poetry programme for Apples and Snakes and mentoring voices through the Roundhouse and Bellows collectives. He lectures in Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham, but he is most at home in the creative chaos of a festival or the quiet focus of a bookshop reading. He writes and translates between Polish, French, and English, treating translation and multilingualism as a creative tool. He enjoys the tension between the composed concentration of the written word and the messy, beautiful life of the spoken poem.