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We Opened Our Doors in York!
You may have noticed that we missed our usual newsletter last week. The simple reason is that the small team who usually write it, Deb and Maya, have been completely absorbed in opening our newest Poetry Pharmacy in the heart of beautiful York.
On Thursday evening we welcomed friends, family, poets and members of the local press to an invitation-only preview. It was a chance to raise a glass together and test the building before opening our doors to the public.
Then on Friday 6 March the York Poetry Pharmacy officially opened.
Friday and Saturday were wonderfully busy. Our small shop was full, with queues, conversations and a great deal of kindness from everyone who came through the door. Our brilliant team were thrown straight in at the deep end and rose to it beautifully.
A special thank you to Pippa Stacey, disabled writer and speaker, who arrived at 9am in her wheelchair to test our new ramp call button and help us make sure the shop is accessible and easy to navigate. Several lovely articles have already appeared about the new shop, from Write Out Loud which you can read here and York Calling here.
We are also delighted to introduce the new York team:
General Manager Kitty Muir, Assistant Manager Thomasina Cass, and part-time booksellers Alice May, Chloe Hanks and Carris Lake. They are already confidently writing poetry prescriptions and we are enormously grateful to them.
The Reading Room and workshop space are still to come, so there is more to look forward to as the shop continues to take shape.
We hope you will come and visit us in the beautiful city of York.
Meanwhile our wonderful teams in Bishop’s Castle and Oxford Street have been running things beautifully in our absence.
In a time that can sometimes feel full of uncertainty and difficult news, it feels good to be sharing a small piece of positive news for the high street.
Warmest wishes
Deb
In Bishop’s Castle, home to our original Poetry Pharmacy, the place has been has been humming with activity. The Arts Festival has been a joyful celebration of creativity in all its forms.
We’ve hosted workshops on mindfulness and meditation, haiku poetry, art-making, and seasonal writing, alongside an open mic night with special guests and a cider celebration complete with apple-themed poetry performances.
Our Poetry Pharmacists were delighted to read and perform beautiful poems in praise of the humble apple — a small fruit with a long and storied poetic life. Readings included I Seek and Desire by Sappho, After Apple-Picking by Robert Frost, and Apple Blossoms by Susan Kelly DeWitt, a few lines of which you can read below.
Apple Blossoms
By Susan Kelly-DeWitt
And just as you find
yourself at the end
of winter’s long, cold
rope, the blossoms open
like pink thimbles
and that black dollop
of shine called
bumblebee stumbles in.
In other news, we're delighted to share that The Poetry Pharmacy has been selected as a Midlands Regional & Country Finalist for Independent Bookshop of the Year at the British Book Awards. This means so much to us. Thank you to all of our readers and visitors because you are part of this moment. Regional winners will be announced on 10th March, with the overall award decided in May. For now, we’re prescribing poems with extra joy!
As spring comes into its own, we’ve been quietly enamoured by the changes around us: snowdrops and crocuses pushing through, sudden glimmers of sunshine casting unexpected rainbows across the countryside, and a noticeable lift in creative energy. We’re looking ahead to months filled with thought-provoking events, warm conversations across the counter, and that particular freshness that only this season can bring.
Thank you, as always, for being part of the Poetry Pharmacy community
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Let your creativity lead the way in this safe and
supportive free flow creative writing session
Start your morning with a burst of creativity at the Poetry Pharmacy London! Join poet Laurie Bolger for a relaxed, playful session of free flow writing in our lush first-floor space on Oxford Street. Tea, stationery, and warm vibes are provided—just bring yourself and your imagination. No experience needed, newbies welcome, and spaces are limited!
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Join Holly Winter-Hughes for a guided online session
Join Holly Winter-Hughes (How to Leave a Body, Verve) as she gently guides you in using writing to connect with yourself and your embodied stories. Through exploring poems on embodiment and tapping into your own somatic experiences, you’ll create writing that is visceral, sensuous, and deeply personal.
Each session prioritises autonomy - you decide how deeply to explore your writing. Return for each session to build your practice, or join as a newcomer.
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Write, reflect and connect in this
warm workshop exploring courage
How might we welcome in 2026 with some courage? Katie from the Poetry Pharmacy team has been asking herself this, and invites you to join her for Writing with Courage: a restorative creative writing workshop.
Writing with Courage is a creative writing workshop designed and hosted by Katie Dunstan, in collaboration with The Poetry Pharmacy. Over 90 minutes we’ll be warming ourselves up to get writing, sharing our own experiences of courage and responding to some creative writing prompts.
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Spend the night in the Poetry Pharmacy!
Join poet Jo Bell and artist Bean Sawyer for an unforgettable all-night poetry workshop that blends writing with visual art and creative camaraderie. The Poetry Pharmacy will become our poetry snug for the evening, with midnight treats, warm drinks, and comfortable spots to snooze.
Throughout the night, Jo will guide you through poetic prompts, while Bean offers foraged wordplay and hands-on crafting. There will also be space for quiet reflection, storytelling, and dreaming.
Whether you're long-established or poetry-curious, expect laughter, insight, and a flurry of inspiration. Come with a notebook, leave with a constellation of new ideas, connections, and memories of a dawn filled with potential.
10pm–7am, with time for snoozing and resting. Spaces are limited, so book early.
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Personalised poems crafted on a vintage typewriter
Jen is an award-winning poet and creative copywriter who transforms feelings, memories and ideas into heartfelt, personalised poetry. At her regular drop in events at the Poetry Pharmacy on Oxford Street, she crafts bespoke poems live on her trusty vintage typewriter, capturing individual stories and emotions and turning them into unique keepsakes.
“Jen is an exceptionally talented writer. Her poetry conjures such vivid images that transport you somewhere else, and the way she puts words together is a beautiful art in itself.” Ceri, Poem recipient
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Find poetry in unexpected places
Join award winning poet Caroline Smith to discover how the mundane & the life critical can be the raw materials for creativity. The snatched fragment of time, the poignant, the humorous. How can experience be caught and transfigured.
We will explore poetry of consolation and poetry of warning: of care for the self and family and care for our communities and world. Why does a poem work, why does it fail, when does the tender become sentimental, a passionate cause become ‘a design on others.’
Using sources, inspirations and prompts we will generate new poems and write in unexpected ways - exploring passion and heartbreak, care we have received, care we have given, poetry that steps forward and poetry that lets go.
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