Description

As writers we are always being told show, don’t tell. Film makers are experts at telling stories by showing, so what can we learn from them to improve our poetry?
In this practical writing workshop we will look at the similarities between poetry and cinema, study the techniques used by film-makers and poets, and use writing prompts based on them to produce new poems.
This workshop coincides with Farleys exhibition on Humphrey Jennings: Surrealist poet, artist, film-maker and Mass Observation Founder. Director Lindsay Anderson called Jennings “the only real poet that British cinema has produced”.
We will look at clips of some of Jennings films, as well as his poetry and the work of other poets. We will see how the man known as ‘British cinema’s war poet’ uses images and sound in his films to convey meaning, and how we can use ‘Sound and Vision’ in our poetry to give it greater depth and interest.

We will also take advantage of the surreal art around us in Farleys galleries and garden for added inspiration.

Derek Adams is a professional photographer whose poems have appeared in magazines and anthologies in the UK and abroad including Rialto, Magma, Maintenant and London Grip. He has published two collections Everyday Objects, Chance Remarks (Littoral, 2005) and Exposure: Snapshots from the life of Lee Miller (Dempsey & Windle, 2019) and pamphlets Postcards to Olympus and unconcerned but not indifferent: the life of Man Ray.
He has an MA in Creative and Life Writing from Goldsmiths.