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Welcome to the Poetry Pharmacy's newsletter!
Here you will find upcoming events, new and featured books, poems, prescriptions, and panaceas.
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Extraordinary News from The Poetry Pharmacy
Dearest Friends, Patients, and All Seekers of Literary Medicines,
We'd love to share our news that the Poetry Pharmacy is preparing to open its third establishment, in York City Centre, early in the New Year!
Bottles are being labelled, shelves dusted, and prescriptions for the spirit carefully compounded. Our poetic apothecaries are at work readying themselves to bring comfort, courage, and connection to a new community of readers and thinkers.
From our beginnings in Shropshire, to our second counter within the fragrant surrounds of Lush Spa, Oxford Street, this next adventure marks a great leap forward for our little enterprise and we hope, for the encouragement of the reading of poetry too.
We believe poetry should not sit quietly on a shelf, but act as a living medicine cabinet for the psyche. To be expanding again, against all commercial logic and in the name of poetry, feels like a small miracle and slightly sub-verse-ive (!), proof that there is still a collective appetite for gentleness, reflection, and beauty in difficult times.
We began with the simple idea that poetry could be a healing art and a way to reach one another when words fail. To see that idea grow into three dispensaries, each offering solace through books and conversation, feels both humbling and very exciting. We can’t wait to bring the Poetry Pharmacy north.
More news to follow soon, but for now, know that our bottles are being filled, our shelves prepared, and our hearts full of gratitude and we hope you'll follow us on own journey.
To all who have supported us so far, thank you so much! It's down to you!
Love the Poetry Pharmacy clinicians x
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The Light is Softer
This time of the year offers a wonderful opportunity for rest and recuperation. The days are shorter, the light is softer, and it feels like a natural time to step back and reflect on the year so far, before the rush and excitement of seasonal festivities.
Our newest pocket-sized collection, Poetry Prescription: Calm, contains a carefully compounded selection of poems that act as a soothing tonic, a balm for frayed tempers and overburdened spirits. The poems in this collection are gentle reminders to slow down, let go of urgency, and make space for calm.
The chapter ‘winter happens like a secret’ gathers poems that honour this season not as something to endure, but an invitation: to rest, to relax, and gather strength.
Before the festive season gathers pace, Poetry Prescription: Calm offers a companion for the quieter moments - a small reminder that rest and reflection are gifts worth giving yourself.
Sean O'Brien's poem, At the Solstice is found in Calm and you can read it here, and in the photo below.
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A creative writing workshop with
Poetry Pharmacist, Katie Dunstan
In these troubled times, it can feel easier to write about the dark and the difficult. This workshop invites you to turn gently toward the light—to explore how hope shows up in your life and words.
Join our esteemed poetry pharmacist, facilitator, and practitioner of the poetic arts, Katie Dunstan, for a restorative creative writing workshop. Together, you shall administer doses of hope through guided conversation, therapeutic exercises, and the potent elixir of the Poetry Pharmacy “Hope” prescription, all within a safe and welcoming apothecary of imagination. Book here.
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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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Let your creativity lead the way in this safe and supportive free flow creative writing session
 The Creative Writing Breakfast
Thursday 23rd October 2025, 10-11.30am
Oxford Street
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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Explore the richness of our
inner and outer landscapes
Sunday 2nd November 2025, 10.30-3pm
Bishops Castle
Join poets Roz Goddard and Jane Commane for a poetry spa morning of workshops and readings. We will explore the richness of our inner and outer landscapes where new creative ideas can spontaneously arise and be used for experiments in writing poetry.
“Roz Goddard is one of my favourite poets and Small Moon Curve shines with all that I admire in her poems: mystery, beauty, deep tenderness and a willingness to venture into the dark and light it with love.” – Liz Berry
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Join Tom and Rozi for an intensive poetry weekend
Join Tom Hirons and Rozi Hilton for a weekend intensive in the territory of what they call the Feral Angels of Poetry: poetry with its blazing head in the cosmos and its feet in the muck and murk of this world. Immersive, alive, embodied and richly experiential, these are not your average poetry weekends.
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Hear from speakers, panel members and poets who are redefining poetry’s role in wellbeing and professional practice
The Poetry in Business Conference explores how poetry can inspire leadership, creativity, and wellbeing in the workplace. Through talks, panels, and live readings, leading thinkers and poets will share how language can help organisations embrace uncertainty, nurture resilience, and build human-centred cultures.
As part of the conference, our very own Deb Alma will be joined by LUSH CEO Mark Constantine OBE for a conference-exclusive conversation exploring how poetry can serve as an unexpected but powerful tool for thoughtful decision-making in business. They’ll discuss the creative role poetry can play in both life and leadership, drawing on their book The Poetry Business School (HarperCollins), with Kate Downey-Evans as their executive coach.
You can buy your tickets here.
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Explore the ways hope lives in us
through writing and conversation
Join poet and Poetry Pharmacist Katie Dunstan for a 90-minute creative writing workshop exploring hope. Through storytelling, conversation prompts, and gentle writing exercises, you’ll connect with your own experiences of hope and take inspiration from the “Hope” Poetry Pharmacy pills. No prior writing experience is needed — just bring your favourite notebook and pen!
This workshop is made possible with the kind support of our friends at LUSH, who are providing space at their Soho HQ.
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A lively exploration of one of Britain’s most beloved poets
Duffy has said of her poetry that it is like, ‘the sand in the oyster, it’s a creative irritant. In each poem, I am trying to reveal a truth.’ Duffy was appointed Poet Laureate in 2009 and held the position until 2019. She was the first female, Scottish and openly gay person to do so. Duffy’s work encompasses a wealth of subject matter: childhood, teenage years, sex, city life, oppression, politics, gender, loss, nostalgia and love.
Join Jan Westwood to explore Duffy's poetic works. Ticket price includes tea or coffee and cake!
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Join two brilliant authors for a talk on animals,
wonder, and the path to a kinder world
Join authors Jay Griffiths and Gareth Howell-Jones for an inspiring evening exploring the healing power of animals and the simple wonders of the natural world. From hedgehogs to everyday encounters, they invite us to reimagine our place in nature with humour, hope, and heart. Discover new ways to nurture ourselves, our communities, and the planet.
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Between Sleep and Sky: Making Friends
with Your Dreams Through Poetry
 When the Night Speaks
with Leah Larwood
Monday 8th December, 6-8pm
Online
Every night, dreams visit us—strange, mysterious, sometimes unsettling, always full of meaning. We’re delighted to partner with The Moon Lab to bring you this special workshop, where poetry becomes a bridge between the world of sleep and waking life. Through creative prompts, simple writing exercises, and gestalt-inspired ‘poetry therapy’ techniques, you’ll discover ways to listen to, honour, and explore your dreams. No experience is needed, just bring your curiosity, a notebook or dream journal, and an open heart ready to meet the magic of your night world.
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Exploring the poetry of the body, breath, and lived experience
 Write the Unruly Body Poetry Workshop
with Dr. Kate NoakesMonday 8th December, 6-8pm
Online
To Write the Unruly Body, Kate Noakes presents a number of approaches and exercises for writing about illness, dis-ease and disease. Deriving from her new book, Sublime Lungs, in which Kate explores her lifelong asthma and the breath as a source of poetic inspiration, she invites you to the Poetry Pharmacy for a morning of reflection and expression, and occasional light-heartedness.Kate Noakes PhD, is a poet and non-fiction writer from Bristol. She has published nine full collections of poetry and a pamphlet. She has taught workshops for Paris Lit Up, the Poetry School, Oxford University and Malika’s Poetry Kitchen. You can visit Kate's website here.
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Thank you so much for reading.
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