We’re currently working hard behind the scenes to strengthen Write Out Loud and prepare ourselves to be able to support the post-Covid poetry community. We couldn’t have done that without your incredibly generous donations over the winter and thank you again for your support.

In the meantime, we’re thrilled to introduce a new series of monthly poetry masterclasses. These will take place over Zoom and will feature nationally and internationally renowned poets as guest tutors.

The first masterclass takes place on Wednesday 31 March from 18.30-20.00 UK time, and we’re honoured to have the one and only Rachel Long as our guest tutor. It's now fully booked, with five on a waiting list. Huge thanks to all those who have signed up! 

We’re targeting these masterclasses at poets who want to develop their skills and learn new approaches. Over the coming months, we’ll also introduce workshops for poets who are just starting out on their creative journeys. Nurturing the development of poets at all levels has always been a core aim for Write Out Loud and we believe that these online masterclasses and workshops are key to that.

Rachel Long is a poet and founder of Octavia Poetry Collective for Women of Colour, which is housed at the Southbank Centre in London. Her début collection My Darling from the Lions was published by Picador last year and was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection.We were delighted to feature a performance from Rachel at our fundraising event in January and are over the moon that she’s agreed to deliver this first masterclass.