The Poetry Society Poetry Surgery - with Kona Macphee
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This is a wonderful opportunity to discuss your poems on a one-to-one basis with poet and tutor Kona Macphee.
One slot available for Kona's next session:
12-1, Saturday 30 October - 1 hour
** If you would like to register for this or future sessions, please contact Paul McGrane 020 7420 9881 or membership (AT) poetrysociety.org.uk or write to Membership Manager, 22 Betterton Street, London WC2H 9BX.
There are 5 slots available per day and each lasts 1 hour. You will be asked to send your poems (up to 6 poems, or 150 lines maximum) no later than 2 weeks before the event, plus a brief accompanying note describing why you write poetry, what you hope to do with your writing and what you hope to gain from the Surgery.
£30 for Poetry Society members, £40 for non-members (cheques made payable to the Poetry Society or call with your credit card/debit card details).
Each session will take place at the Scottish Poetry Library, Edinburgh.
Kona Macphee was born in London and grew up in Melbourne, Australia, where she flirted with occupations including composer, violinist, waitress, motorcycle mechanic and computer scientist. She now lives in rural Scotland, and provides poetry tutoring and critiquing for the Poetry Society, HI-Arts and The Poetry School. Kona received an Eric Gregory Award for her poetry in 1998. Her debut collection Tails was published by Bloodaxe in 2004, and her second collection Perfect Blue is out now. www.konamacphee.com.
'Cholera', from Perfect Blue, was chosen as The Saturday Poem in The Guardian, 27 February 2010
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Kona Macphee Perfect Blue Bloodaxe or Amazon UK or Amazon US £7.95 paperback, 64pp ISBN: 978 1 85224 866 6 Available from 25 February 2010 Read extracts and listen to audio recordings at http://pb.konamacphee.com/index.php |
Feedback from Kona's previous sessions:
I was quite happy with the value for money side of things but then I did need a lot of help! I would recommend future events to friends. I actually spent 5 days in Edinburgh and really enjoyed the venue. I would love the chance to visit other places as an excuse for a weekend or few days away. I would also be interested if the Poetry Society ran a summer school of some sort. Nick Hall, Cambridgeshire
I thought that The Poetry Surgery with Kona was brilliant. Kona struck exactly the tone I wanted with very practical and reasoned suggestions. I am very grateful to her. I would definitely recommend it to any friends who wanted serious and balanced feedback on their writing. One hour of somebody talking exclusively about my writing! It’s never happened before. I liked it. It was value for money – an hour of professional time. Simon Maclaren, Edinburgh
It was very useful. An hour felt about right and Kona was friendly, practical and extremely attentive to detail in any comments she made. The SPL was a good venue, allowing privacy from the main public space. Glad I noticed the advert. Mary Wight, Edinburgh
Really great meeting with Kona. She is such a nice person. She must truly be Superwoman, with all that she does and a family too! She gave me what I realistically expected and that was a thorough and constructive critique of the poems I submitted; she also gave me some very useful insights into the art and science of poetry construction. John Anstie, Sheffield
I thoroughly enjoyed my session with Kona. She was very well prepared and had clearly given careful attention to my work. Her assessment and advice was very clear and also vey legibly written allowing me to think it over on my own at home. I found the whole experience very helpful and encouraging. It is a very good idea to hold these outreach Surgeries. I did indeed think it was definitely good value for the money and would have no hesitation in recommending it to my friends. Vincent Cuddihy, Glasgow
I really enjoyed Kona's Surgery. The Scottish Poetry Library feels like a pretty "safe zone" to me! I'm glad you changed the sessions to a full hour. It felt just about right to me - we had time to discuss everything I wanted, without feeling rushed, but it did fill the time. I was very impressed with the care Kona had taken in her comments on my poems, and they were all helpful. We also discussed some issues I had raised in my notes, and that too was very helpful. As for the cost, I personally would find it hard to afford much more, but for an hour of individual attention I would guess it's a bargain. I would certainly recommend it. Robert Moffat, Edinburgh
The fact that Kona is someone whose work is respected and who took the process seriously is important, but, also, I think the benefit of paying for the session is that you don't feel you are imposing your work on someone, asking them to do you a favour, which is great. Pauline Beaumont, Newcastle
It was nice to get the chance to have this type of session north of the border - I should think that other areas would feel the same. Aileen Lobban, Edinburgh
I very much enjoyed the Poetry Surgery with Kona. The Scottish Poetry Library was an ideal venue, I felt, as one can wander around beforehand. The room provided was private and suitable for the purpose – there were no disruptions. I do think the Surgery was very good value for money. Her comments were very helpful and perceptive. The Surgery was excellent, as there was the feeling of coming away with more than her comments on my poem. So I’d definitely recommend the Surgery to other people. Anne Ryland, Northumberland
I felt that the session with Kona was a wonderful experience. I thought her feedback and encouragement was excellent and overall it was an inspirational session for me. So thanks again for making it available. Jane Aldous, Edinburgh
Thank you so much for the session. I was relieved that you quickly got on with the detail. The points you made were spot-on; especially regarding tenses, imagery and the need to achieve overall coherence and meaning. Alan Gay, East Lothian
Kona is a sensitive and articulate reviewer & I enjoyed meeting her and gaining insights into her view of poetry. Sue Spencer, Newcastle
For the six poems which I submitted, the timing was about right. I think we both benefitted from the discussion and both of us learned something from the analysis of the poems. It's good to have a stranger read your work with a fresh eye. Angela Blacklock-Brown, Edinburgh
I thoroughly enjoyed yesterday’s Surgery. I found Kona very welcoming and it was a helpful session. I have no regrets at attending and I did find it useful, so yes, I would recommend them. Warren Glover, Edinburgh
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