How It All Began

The Pernessy Poetry Workshops began in 2012 around my kitchen table on Chemin de Pernessy in Switzerland. I’d have some soupe du jour on the stove, and people would show up with all sorts of goodies—not only to eat and drink but also poems to read and poetry exercises to stretch our imaginations.

When COVID struck in 2020, we began meeting on Zoom, with a sense of doom and gloom. But luck was on our side. As it turned out, being online brought together English-language poets from an even greater variety of cultures and countries, allowing us to expand across four continents.

Nowadays, I still enjoy giving workshops, both online and in person, but I do so according to demand. If you’re interested in joining or hosting one, just drop me a line.

How to Participate

The workshops are open to both budding and published writers of all ages who wish to develop their poetry skills in an encouraging and supportive environment. To participate, please email me directly and let me know:

  • If you would like to read a poem (yours or someone else’s).

  • If you would like to read a poem of yours critiqued (if so, please read “Constructive Critiquing” below).

  • If you would like to share a writing prompt (approximately 15 minutes).

  • If you would just like to hang out with us.

There’s no need to provide specifics in advance. You don’t need to send anything or read anything ahead of time — nothing beats a good surprise! Just give me a sense of what you’re willing to share (if anything). I try to maintain a balanced mix of readings, critiques, and writing exercises/prompts.

Constructive Critiquing

If you choose to have a poem critiqued, once your poem is up, you can do with it as you wish. It’s especially helpful if you have your poem displayed on your screen and ready to share. Please let me know if this is a problem at least 24 hours in advance, and we will find a solution. The number of poems critiqued is usually limited to four, depending on other activities we decide to include, and critiques are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

In general, we follow this process:

  1. The poet shares their poem on the screen (if on Zoom) or hands out hard copies for others to view.

  2. The poet selects someone (or asks for a volunteer) to read the poem aloud so the poet can hear how the line breaks, punctuation, rhythm, etc., work.

  3. The poet then reads their own poem aloud so we can become familiar with it, reflect on it, and hear how the poet intends the line breaks, punctuation, rhythm, etc., to sound.

  4. Participants share something they liked about the poem and something they think could help improve it.