My Workshops

WORKSHOPS BY LIZZ MURPHY
NB On hold for the moment — scavenging time to develop a manuscript

Lizz is a popular creative writing workshop facilitator with many years experience. She offers a number of themed workshops for new and experienced writers (see some of those below) - there is a focus on poetry but mixed groups are also accommodated. She has designed workshop programs for major community publication projects and for smaller projects by local writing groups. She will design a single workshop or a workshop program to meet the needs of your members or community. Lizz Murphy's workshops generally aim to assist poets find fresh inspiration, write more topically or more personally.

You can also talk to her about one-to-one mentoring.

Lizz is available for:
One-day workshops (10 am-4.30 pm)
Half-day (up to 3 hours) 

Lizz Murphy's awards and mentions include co-winner of the 2011 Rosemary Dobson Poetry Prize, Highly Commended - 2013 Blake Poetry Prize, finalist - 2013 & 2014 UK's Aesthetica Poetry Competition, 1998 ACT Creative Arts Fellow (Literature) and winner - 1994 Anutech Poetry Prize. She has published thirteen books including eight poetry titles. She participated in the Australia-India Poetry Exchange with assistance from the ACT Government (2006) and a CAPO-Singapore Airlines Travel Award (2007). She has worked in publishing, community arts and regional arts development and was the NSW Poetry Development Officer (2004-07). She is the coordinator of Poetry: The Indelible Stencil a regional public art project and is The Canberra Times Poetry Editor (from June 2017).

Fill Your Outbox  With Poetry

Fill Your Outbox With Poems — a number of themes including NESTS. Challenging and inspiring writing exercises; hints and incentives; discussions to generate more ideas; advice on getting your work ready to send to journals. More poetry for your outbox!

Putting Yourself into Your Writing
(Also known as Who Are You/Who ARE You?)

A poetry workshop with a focus on writing personally. Participants will reach into the past and play with the present. They will consider whether to tell it like it is, to reinvent, to reveal or not to reveal. While writing about the I/self they will also look at issues such as tense and voice. The Who are You? workshop includes writing exercises and discussion.

Participants are asked to bring brief information to the workshop on two or three significant social or world events occurring in their birth year or during their childhood.

(The full day version provides time for more exercises and more time for sharing and discussion.)

Topical Topics 

For poets in need of fresh ideas or a change of direction; thinking about writing more topically; wanting to bring more passion into their poetry. This workshop is for you whether you don’t think you have a political bone in your body, are uncertain about combining your views with your writing or need some general guidance. The workshop includes discussion of what is topical/what is political anyway; examples of poetry, and exercises to inspire.

Participants will explore local and global issues and how to draw them into their own writing, the personal/the political, different ideas and styles for exploring these, general writing, drafting, editing skills.

The Small Disturbance

The small poem, the micro poem, haiku, the one-liner – brevity has been in poetry for a long time – long before mobile phones, the net or twitter and their flarfs and twaikus. The small poem can be a flashing wing of nature, a quick sketch, a penetrating portrait, a story in a heartbeat, a scrap of the living, a satirical stir. It is a punch in a line; a small disturbance.

Join Lizz in a workshop with discussion and exercises to inspire you to write your own sketches and small disturbances.

Participants will learn about catching the moment; writing lean and paring back; generating ideas; general writing, drafting, editing skills.

Lizz Murphy’s poetry beginnings are in the small poem - pinch-size poems that fitted into the corners of small literary magazines. This time around they are published by PressPress in delightful small format books: Six Hundred Dollars in 2010, Portraits in January 2013 and Shebird in 2016.

Re/Word

RE/WRITE RE/WORD RE/WORK A mentoring style workshop for poets, including critical feedback, guidance and discussion of issues and challenges. Poets are invited to provide up to four pages of poetry in advance, for feedback on the day, alongside a workshopping of nominated challenges. In this full day workshop there will also be exercises for the pleasure of writing and revising and to help address some of the concerns raised. 

Writing the Everyday

A poetry workshop exploring the everyday - see how everyday things and your immediate environment can feed and fortify your writing. Find the extraordinary in the ordinary. Includes exercises and discussion.