“Sue’s experience and knowledge shines through in the feedback she gives and has given me the confidence to write things I would never have imagined myself capable of.”
Ghyslaine, King’s Lynn
Sue’s themes were eclectic and different from the subject matter I typically write about which helped me discover new material. Several of the poems I wrote from her prompts have been published.
Jennifer, San Francisco
“Sue Burge is a wonderfully warm, highly experienced tutor of all kinds of creative writing. What was so thrilling and rewarding was watching people — some self-avowed non-writers or poets — lose their fear and trepidation and write some amazing pieces.”
Gaynor Clements, Director, Cambridge Writing Retreat www.cambridgewritingretreat.com
“I’ve attended a number of Sue’s creative writing day workshops and courses. Sue provides excellent prompts and exercises and is fully conversant with the latest teaching methods and trends in the publishing industry. As such, she can provide students with bespoke advice on their writing goals.”
Elisabeth Sennitt Clough
Author of “Glass” — Paper Swans Press (2016) and “Sightings” — Pindrop Press (2016)
THREE POETRY WORKSHOPS
Friday 5th May, Friday 2nd June, Friday 7th July 11.30am-2.45pm
Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich NR4 7TJ
£30 per workshop or £85 for all three (all workshops are stand-alone but doing all three will mean that you are likely to develop a stronger response to the artworks and might be able to produce a sequence of poems/linked body of work over the three sessions in response to the different approaches)
Fee includes entry to the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts including the temporary exhibition, comprehensive worksheet and tutor feedback via e-mail on one poem per session.
In these workshops we will explore different aspects of the Sainsbury Centre collection, for example, a focus on both the very small and very large objects in the collection/the art of collecting/artwork which evokes movement/dance etc. Your ticket will include entry to the temporary exhibition, Julian Stair’s Art, Death and the Afterlife, but this will be an optional extra outside the course remit, as it contains sensitive material and might not be for everyone. Reading and discussing poems which incorporate the themes of the session, and carrying out innovative exercises in response to the artwork, will inspire you to produce fresh and original poetic responses to the rich worlds contained in this unique environment. There will be opportunities to try out different poetic styles and forms and to receive both peer and tutor feedback on your work.
Contact Sue for more details and how to book and pay.
BEING IN/BY THE SEA
Writing Workshop
Tuesday 18th July, 10.30am-4pm
Tutors: Jonathan Ward and Sue Burge
Fee: £50 (includes handouts, tea, coffee & biscuits)
This workshop will take place partly on the beach at East Runton and partly at Sue’s house, a short walk from the beach (full details given nearer the time). We are hoping to stimulate your memories of the seaside and to invite you to observe the beach world around you. You can respond to the prompts with poetry, memoir, fiction, anything you like and we’ll both give you some feedback on one of your pieces via e-mail after the course. If you are feeling brave you can also paddle or swim to add to the creative inspiration on offer! We’ll be asking all participants to bring a contribution to a shared vegetarian lunch.
If you would like to secure a place, then contact Jonathan at email hidden; JavaScript is required to book and pay. We’ll keep an eye on the weather and if it’s awful, there’ll be an alternative date on offer.
Contact Sue for more details and how to book and pay.
CINEMATIC SEASONS
Writing Workshop
Saturday 14th October, 10.30am-4.30pm
East Runton, nr Cromer, Norfolk
(exact address given after booking)
£55 (includes handouts, tea, coffee, biscuits, cake and a light lunch (choice of two home-made veggie soups with savoury scones)
The seasons are so often written about, how can we approach them in new and different ways? In this workshop we will explore the seasons via a series of film clips, ranging from documentaries and animated sequences to romantic comedies, costume drama, film noir and more! For each clip there will be innovative writing exercises which will inspire fresh and original prose and/or poetry pieces.
Contact Sue for more details and how to book and pay.
ZOOM POETRY COURSE
Craftwork: the world in a grain of sand
6.30pm-8pm
Four Tuesdays — 7,14,21,28 November
£85 (includes feedback on four poems)
The poet Gerald Stein encourages us to “read 90%, write 10%”. In other words, we need to inform our writing practice with our reading practice and this course is designed to do just that. We’ll explore a different contemporary poet (Natalie Diaz, John Glenday, Tua Forsström and Mark Doty), each week, learning from their technique, experience and imaginations, in order to help us create new work.
Contact Sue for more details and how to book and pay.
“During her writing courses, Sue always stimulates our creativity by many means, including visiting places of local interest. Last autumn we visited All Saints’ Church in King’s Lynn, and it was while shuffling through the leaves and looking at the old gravestones, that the idea of “Waiting” started to take shape. Sue encouraged me to send it to Writers’ Forum, I took the leap into the unknown, and to my delight, they published it.”
Rose, Snettisham
“I love coming to Sue’s creative writing class. It’s very relaxed and friendly and after the first week I didn’t mind reading what I’d written to others in the group. We’ve covered prose and different forms of poetry, and as an extra we’ve even done bookmaking with a guest tutor which I really enjoyed!”
Tessa, King’s Lynn
“I‘ve found it fascinating how class discussion and exercises generate both interesting work and other unrelated ideas to pursue individually; how some ideas arrive nearly fully-formed while others need the individual support and feedback from Sue and the rest of the group to bring to a satisfactory conclusion.”
Phil, Blackborough End, Norfolk
