Workshops  are your chance to read and discuss work in progress in a small, informal group.

Although termed 'workshops' the purpose of these meetings is to widen awareness of poetry, using one's own or others' work as a focal point. The sessions are gently chaired, not led, refreshments are free though donations towards room-hire are somewhat welcome. These tend be in the region of 2 to 3 pounds currently. Poetry talking shops would probably be a more accurate term for them than 'workshops', which is inherited. We believe they have formed a continuous series for over a quarter of a century, while, allowing for some breaks, they probably stretch back fifty years or more. Please note they begin at 7.00 pm on the evenings in question and, although the rooms are available up till 10.00 pm, in practice they tend to finish by about 9.15 to 9.30 pm .We hold these evenings at The Friends Meeting House, 16 Queens Road, except when there is a reading  - normally the second week of the month.
Everyone is welcome - you do not need to be a member but please note these are not performance poetry sessions.

Dates for 2011:        Sept 30th Oct 28th Nov 18th

...There were published poets, beginners like me, but we all had a genuine interest of poetry in common. It was great to hear feedback on the presented poems; the Workshop helped me elevate my pastime to a new level.

Krishna Bakhai

I have recently returned to the Leicester Poetry Society after a seven-year gap and I am glad I did. Having moved from Leicester to Stoke, one of the first things I did was to look for another poetry society to join. The saying, 'you don't know what you've got until it's gone' springs to mind here, for I simply couldn't find another society that worked to the same high standards as our own.

As I sit in on workshops again (albeit, not as many as I would like to) I am struck by the levels of skill and experience, craftmanship and creativity on display each week. The thoughtfulness and sensitivity that goes into the critical process is also a pleasure to behold. It's never easy bringing your precious 'masterpiece' to share with your peers, and it is a tough process to hear it broken down and its constituent pieces analysed, but it teaches you more about the art and craft of poetry than any other method I know of, short of an Arvon Foundation poetry course.

Mark Borg