Writing poetry with Francesca Beard

Recently, instead of normal English lessons, poet Francesca Beard came and taught us to write poems. We warmed up with word games, talked about issues in today’s world, and she read us her poetry and explained it to us. It was great to hear from the person who wrote the poem what it was really all about! We could ask her in-depth questions, like did she really mean to use a word in a particular way?

Francesca Beard’s workshop was so exciting. I much prefer her new way of making poems to more old-fashioned methods. It’s more engaging, less boring and also more interesting than the works I’ve read previously by classic poets.

When Francesca talked she captured my attention like a lion captures its prey. In fact, she talks in such an interesting way that you can’t take your eyes off her! Clearly watching her workshop has made me experiment with poetic language here!

 The most absorbing activity she provided was the one about creating a surreal poem. It was good to hear my fellow students from all around the world create poetry. In fact, sometimes when you translate words from your mother tongue to English without rearranging anything, you can create original pieces of work!

To conclude, I think Francesca Beard’s workshop was absolutely great. I’d recommend anyone to join her for a session if they can. In fact, when you listen to her poetry, it’s like being transported to another dimension.

Jacopo Bagnoli is an IB1 student.