Thank you to the editors for publishing my poem “Moth” in the latest issue of The Rialto. I’m super pleased that another of my endangered insect poems has found a home and hope this brings more attention to the strange and spectacular world of invertebrates! The grey carpet moth is one of several moths confined …
Author Archives: Rachel Bower
New OCD knowledge hub!
A new knowledge hub has just been launched to make the latest brain research on OCD more accessible. The website was co-created by researchers, people living with OCD and charities to address some of the questions that young people and parents have about OCD and the brain. Last year, I wrote about working with young …
Arvon opportunity!
I am super excited to be co-tutoring a five-day residential Poetry & Short Stories course with the brilliant Tania Hershman and Guest Hafsah Aneela Bashir in Hebden Bridge from 4-8 March. And I’m even more excited to announce that thanks to Tania’s hard work we have one COMPLETELY FREE place for someone from a under-represented …
More tips for editing
As I said last time, I believe that everyone has the potential to be an awesome editor of their own work! It’s sometimes helpful to see how editing is an integral part of the process for all writers, even the most celebrated! There are some wonderful digital archives online where you can see how writers …
5 tips for editing your poems!
I run lots of writing and editing workshops, and people are often surprised about how easy it is to ‘crack open’ a poem once they start to look at it from new angles. I love the way that a good edit can hone and transform a piece of writing and make it shine brightly. It’s …
Insects, light pollution & poetry
I am delighted that one of my new insect poems, “Artificial Light at Night (ALAN)” was Highly Commended in this year’s Ginkgo Prize for Ecopoetry. You can find the poem, alongside many other brilliant poems, in this year’s Ginkgo Prize Ecopoetry Anthology The poem was inspired by Douglas Boyes’ groundbreaking research about the detrimental effects …
OCD and the brain
It’s been a total honour working with young people living with OCD, alongside their parents, researchers and OCD charities to co-develop toolkits for young people and future research ideas for the project at the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging at University College London (UCL). OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) affects 12 in every 1000 people, the …
Sheaf Poetry Festival
There’s an amazing programme of events on this week for Sheaf Poetry Festival in Sheffield and online (21-28 May 2023). The programme is jam-packed with inspiring events – get your in-person or online pass now! I’ve been working with some amazing young writers on the Hive Online Fiction Programme over the last few weeks, and …
Writing into Spring
The sap is rising! I’ve been incredibly busy lately with my insect poems, workshops and readings. I’ve been working with some brilliant projects and organisations and wanted to celebrate some of them here. It was a joy to join the LeedsLit Fest Spring Rhythm event last week at the University of Leeds Poetry Centre, with …
Mothering in Neonatal Intensive Care: Exhibition Launch
Last year I was lucky enough to work with Sushila Chowdhry (University of Dundee), Maya Chowdhry and Jessica Howarth on an incredible project facilitating creative workshops with mothers of preterm babies who have experienced neonatal units. The project drew on creative methods to listen to women in holistic ways, focussing on the embodied experience of …
Continue reading “Mothering in Neonatal Intensive Care: Exhibition Launch”
Insects & miniature works
It’s an honour to be travelling to Uppsala University at the end of October to explore possibilities around short works, biodiversity and climate change. I’ll be taking part in a range of workshops and meetings, including a day-long day gathering with a school called HOME in Östervåla, hosted Anna Björkman and Dougald Hine. The following …
Rachel Bower 