Sometimes a poem arrives, it is fully formed, beautiful and simply works. The perfect house guest, it bring a box of chocolates when it stays and strips the bed before it goes. Sadlythis is not most poems. This workshop is all about wrangling those ideas that send ransom notes, wrapped around a couple of literary fingers theyve cut off from the main poem. Its about emptying those notebooks which have half an idea scrawled sideways on the page, finding fresh ideas and new perspectives on your poems. This session is going to use every sneaky trick in the book to unlock your ideas and get them written down, drawing on tools from improvisational performance, creative restriction and playful writing. This session is led by Ben Macpherson. Ben is a writer and performer working across poetry, theatre and comedy. His credits include BBC Radio 2, 4extra and local radio as well as live performances at the Edinburgh Fringe, Latitude Festival and poetry nights around the country. In 2023 Ben won the artists award from the British School in Athens, in 2025 he won a Bravado Award from Brave Words. He has been facilitating since 2012.