‘Are you sitting comfortably? Never mind. Let’s begin anyway.’

Jo Bell’s 52 Project began as a blog-based poetry workshop offering, in her words, ‘a weekly kick in the arse for your Muse.’ Writers were given a new prompt every week throughout 2014; the whole thing is now collected into a new book along with fresh prompts from Helen Mort, Philip Gross and others, as well as inspirational poems from writers including John Donne and Sharon Olds.

In this workshop the former director of National Poetry Day reveals some of the techniques that made the project such a success, exploring the notion of a mental discourse between poets living and dead, as well as opening up her workbook and sharing some tips. If your Muse needs a kick in the nether regions, this is the place to be.

About The Poet

Jo Bell

Jo Bell is a poet and builder of online projects including 52, which led to the bestselling book 52: Write a Poem a Week. Former director of National Poetry Day UK, she is a Charles Causley Prize winner and has a Saboteur Award for the 52 project. In 2015 she received an honorary doctorate for services to poetry. Her latest collection is Kith.