Jan Harris

I was extremely fortunate to be mentored by an established and successful poet whose work I admire greatly.  At our initial meeting we talked about my interests and preoccupations as a writer, and about my aspiration to publish a collection of my work.

As the year progressed, her advice covered several key areas.

Reading suggestions to develop my knowledge and understanding of poetry. She arrived at our initial meeting with an armful of poetry books for me to take home and read and continued to challenge me with a variety of texts throughout the year.

Feedback on my work, including detailed critiques on many of my poems and ideas for revision. This helped me to develop my critical skills and to push my writing further. 

Advice on developing a poetry pamphlet/collection and on publishing my work. She encouraged me to submit my work to competitions as the year progressed, as a result of which my pamphlet was a finalist in the Fool For Poetry Chapbook Competition, and a manuscript was long-listed in Indigo Dreams’ Indigo-First Collection Competition. 

The mentorship scheme gave me much more confidence in myself as a writer and helped me to develop the skills I needed to take my writing forward. It was an invaluable experience which I will always remember with gratitude.