As part of my involvement in the brilliant Typoetry project /typoetry I had the chance to do two workshops in Newham. First, open to young people in the area at the Library in East Ham, and then in the Stratford Youth Zone with pupils from Chobham academy.

Both were immensely rewarding. I prepared properly for both too, not often working with potentially larger groups of people in their teens, who perhaps didn’t have a huge familiarity / interest in my kind of poetry. In the end, both were so so brilliant. I learned a lot from those who attended, about their lives in Newham, and the language they use to navigate their worlds. We also had a laugh the whole way through and I was met with nothing but positivity and hospitality.

Both workshops were supported not only by the remarkable David Beck and Julie Zeller of the Swiss embassy but also by Caroline Oakley, Deborah Peck and Salma Lyons of the Youth Empowerment Services, Library Services and Chobham Academy respectively.