Wednesday 5 December 2018

BRIEF BIO, PLUS FEEDBACKS FROM WRITING WORKSHOPS


Geraldine with her dog, Roy, Crag Head Brantwood 27th October 2015. Photo by Geoff Green


Geraldine Green is an experienced freelance creative writing tutor, mentor and associate editor of Poetry Bay www.poetrybay.com  She was first Writer-in-Residence at Swarthmoor Hall, Ulverston, Cumbria and also first Writer-in-Residence at Brantwood Coniston. 

She, has worked collaboratively on projects alongside musicians, photographers, visual and digital artists and tutored on a variety of creative writing workshops including Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Cont. Education Lancaster University, Adult Education Dallam Community Centre, Cumbria NHS PartnershipTrust, Society of Medical Writers, National Trust, Brantwood, Lancaster University, Suffolk Poetry Society and the University of Cumbria. 

She gained a PhD in creative writing titled "An Exploration of Identity and Environment through Poetry"   from Lancaster University in 2011.

Her collections are: The Skin and Passio {Flarestack}, Poems of a Mole Catcher’s Daughter (Palores). The Other Side of the Bridge (Indigo Dreams). Her latest collection Salt Road was published in 2013 (Indigo Dreams). You can read reviews of Salt Road here:
www.indigodreamsbookshop.com/#/geraldine-green/4565286878 

Review by Steve Matthews, Bookends, Carlisle

Her poetry has been widely anthologised in the UK, US and Italy and translated into German and Romanian. Talks include: ‘On Meeting Lawrence Durrell’, Centenary Celebrations, Corfu, and ‘Ecopoetics: The Works of John Clare and Aldo Leopold’ at The South West Texas Conference, Albuquerque New Mexico. She’s also contributed to Writing Works - A Resource Handbook for Therapeutic Writing Workshops and Activities (Jessica Kingsley).

Geraldine, who frequently performs her poetry in North America, has read at WoodyFest, www.woodyguthrie.com/ on a number of occasions, including an extended poetry trip to Oklahoma and Kansas in July 2013; alongside Jack and Adele Foley and Michael McClure, Oakland, California 2009; with George Wallace, Penelope Shuttle, Caroline Carver and Victoria Field on a poetry trip to New York, Long Island and New Hampshire in 2007, with poets George Wallace, Linda Graham and Rhonda Ward in New York City, Long Island and Connecticut 2005.

She  also reads widely in the UK, venues include: International Women’s Arts Festival Kendal, with Carol Hamilton, Janine Pommy Vega and Rhonda Ward; Everyman Theatre Liverpool; Solfest Cumbria; Wordsworth Trust Grasmere, Cwmdonkin Drive Dylan Thomas’s House, Swansea, Apples and Snakes Cornwall and Kendal, Ted Hughes’ Festival Calderdale Reader Development Hebden Bridge, CatStrand Theatre New Galloway; Kurt Schwitters Celebration Ambleside, alongside Jerome Rothenberg

Listen to Jack Foley read and discuss her work here: www.kpfa.org/archive/id/81889 
Read about her work here on Jerome Rothenberg's blog:
http://poemsandpoetics.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/outsider-poems-mini-anthology-in_19.html

Or visit her blog ‘Salt Road’: http://geraldinegreensaltroad.blogspot.co.uk

Feedback received from participants on Geraldine's workshops:

"Brantwood, still the best poetry party in town!" from one very happy participant on last August's poetry course at Brantwood.

From Suffolk Poetry Society members:

Some lovely feedback I received after the last workshop I ran for SPS:

"I wanted to say how much I enjoyed the workshop - I found it inspiring and supportive, and you are so warm and such fun as well... thank you so much. I hope to work with you in the future."

"Thank you for a wonderful workshop... and thanks for saying you don’t mind me ‘borrowing’ some of your ideas. I particularly loved the foreign language activity. Genius!"

“About fifteen of us enjoyed a stimulating poetry workshop with Geraldine Green last Friday. The workshop took place at UCS, and was followed by a delicious meal, poetry reading by Geraldine and Open Mic session at Arlington's in Ipswich.

The day of poetry was organised by Ian Griffiths and The Suffolk Poetry Society. I, for one, came away with pages of draft poems and raw material on subjects as diverse as gooseberries and the Caryatids on the Erechtheion in Athens!

Geraldine's relaxed approach gave us the confidence to experiment, and we enjoyed sharing our efforts - and making new friends in the process. I never cease to be amazed (and impressed!) by the care and neat hand writing employed by some poets in their initial phase of drafting.” – Caroline Gill


and some more rather lovely things about my workshops!


SOME LOVELY FEEDBACK FROM PARTICIPANTS ON TWO RESIDENTIAL COURSES

JUNE 2014, BODY PARTS WITH PENELOPE SHUTTLE /GERALDINE GREEN, SWARTHMOOR HALL

SUMMER SOLTICE POETRY WITH GEORGE WALLACE/GERALDINE GREEN, BRANTRWOOD CONISTON - Plus very positive things to say about both venues, Swarthmoor Hall and Brantwood Coniston:

Did the workshop meet your expectations? More than! It was a lovely group of people

Would you recommend it to others? Unreservedly!

Which aspects of the workshop did you like most? Everything!

Geraldine & Penny were fab 5 star tutors

Were the handouts helpful?
·      Yes!
·      More than helpful they were great!

Were the workshops well planned by the tutors?
·      Absolutely!
·      Brilliant!
·      Yes, and very stimulating

Did you enjoy them?
·      Yes, and challenging too

Would you come on this workshop again?
·      Definitely
·      Yes!
·      Yes

Where did you find out about the workshop?
·      Geraldine. I came last year and wanted to come again.
·      From a previous workshop with Geraldine
·      From the internet
·      From Facebook
·      From Penny

Which aspects of the workshop did you like most? The group warmth and collaboration, the fast exercises, i.e. the immediate, time-limited tasks

Would you recommend it to others? Yes!
Yes, for these tutors.

In overall terms did the workshop meet your expectations?
·      Yes, exceeded!
·      100% and more!
·      Exceeded!

Any final thoughts?

·      I feel stimulated and supported, thank you!
·      Thank you so much. I have learned such a lot in 3 days! You have given me the tools and inspiration to move on with my writing. I leave excited, inspired and pen poised. Thank you.

   “I've been on Geraldine's face-to-face and online workshops and have also booked her to lead several workshops in the past. All her workshops that I've been to have been inspirational so I highly recommend her as a workshop facilitator. She brings her poetry expertise and knowledge to the workshops so I always come away with poems that I’ve written, but also names of interesting poets to read more of.  Another thing I love is that Geraldine creates a lovely supportive group in her workshops and manages to include everyone regardless of whether they are experienced or a beginner or have learning disabilities.” - Carol Ross

   "I thought the (National Trust Create by the Lake) workshop was very well facilitated, you [Geraldine] really encouraged participants to think creatively and to feel comfortable with sharing what they had produced. You had a lovely manner with people and we would definitely call on your expertise again with future creative writing events. I really look forward to working with you again in the future. I think it's great to do really creative activities in the outdoors, it worked really well on the site. The only thing that people said in their feedback was more time, so we'll have to think about that again in the future!" - Naomi Hewitt Project Manager, National Trust Derwentwater Foreshore Project, Keswick, Cumbria

·       Feedback emailed to me from Anna Turner, from a poetry workshop I ran in October for Calderdale Reader Development and The Elmet Trust, Hebden Bridge:
http://www.theelmettrust.co.uk/

In response to the question: "Was there anything you particularly liked about the day?” The following responses were received:
“Giving and receiving feedback from everyone in the groups – esp. Geraldine’s workshop. Everyone feeling confident to comment and risk.”

“Geraldine’s workshop was very warm and friendly”

“I enjoyed the afternoon writing exercises with Geraldine Green”


“Great group with Geraldine Green!”

   “I've been on Geraldine's face-to-face and online workshops and have also booked her to lead several workshops in the past. All her workshops that I've been to have been inspirational so I highly recommend her as a workshop facilitator. She brings her poetry expertise and knowledge to the workshops so I always come away with poems that I’ve written, but also names of interesting poets to read more of.  Another thing I love is that Geraldine creates a lovely supportive group in her workshops and manages to include everyone regardless of whether they are experienced or a beginner or have learning disabilities.” - Carol Ross
   "I thought the (National Trust Create by the Lake) workshop was very well facilitated, you [Geraldine] really encouraged participants to think creatively and to feel comfortable with sharing what they had produced. You had a lovely manner with people and we would definitely call on your expertise again with future creative writing events. I really look forward to working with you again in the future. I think it's great to do really creative activities in the outdoors, it worked really well on the site. The only thing that people said in their feedback was more time, so we'll have to think about that again in the future!" - Naomi Hewitt Project Manager, National Trust Derwentwater Foreshore Project, Keswick, Cumbria
·       Feedback emailed to me from Anna Turner, from a poetry workshop I ran in October for Calderdale Reader Development and The Elmet Trust, Hebden Bridge:
http://www.theelmettrust.co.uk/

In response to the question: "Was there anything you particularly liked about the day?” The following responses were received:
Giving and receiving feedback from everyone in the groups – esp. Geraldine’s workshop. Everyone feeling confident to comment and risk.”Giving and receiving feedback from everyone in the group – esp. Geraldine’s workshop. Everyone feeling confident to comment and risk”

“Geraldine’s workshop was very warm and friendly”

“I enjoyed the afternoon writing exercises with Geraldine Green”

“Great group with Geraldine Green!”


Please contact me via Poetry PF www.poetrypf.co.uk 
if you're interested in my running a creative writing workshop, giving a reading or a talk - thanks!

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