The Poetry Practice Ltd organises events in the areas of poetry, music, writing and education, as well as training and consultancy for health and wellbeing. The Poetry Practice manages the imprint, fal publications. It is based in Canterbury, Kent, UK. Its Directors are Victoria Field and Eduard Heyning.
On The Contrary – now available
By Lia Sturua, translated by Natalia Bukia Peters and Victoria Field, is the first collection in English from this remarkable Georgian poet.
Where Are You Now?
Red wine’s warming cold crystal,
come on, let’s dine
on Flemish Old Masters!
I’ll spread my tired flesh
on the chair.
You’ll hang your soul in the air
and I’ll ask you, who are you now?
Are you the wind carrying a bird’s bouquet
to God?
Are you the heavy burden of grief
that broke your back,
but in reality, had no weight? …
News and forthcoming events and courses
The Professional Writing Academy
Introduction to Therapeutic and Reflective Writing – online 8 weeks
Therapeutic & Reflective Writing
Running Writing Workshops – online 6 weeks
These two courses were written and are co-directed by Victoria Field and Anne Taylor. They are CPD accredited.
These have now been completed by more than 300 students from over 30 countries. The next start dates are April 2024. The courses will run again in June (subject to demand), September 2024, and January and April 2025. Contact PWA for more details.
Please note, these courses require at least 5 hours a week to complete the assignments and receive a Certificate of Completion There are early-bird prices and also a discount for members of Lapidus.
More details: Introduction to Therapeutic and Reflective Writing Running Writing Workshops
Etty Hillesum Exchange
In 2023, The Poetry Practice, Canterbury in the UK, and the Etty Hillesum Huis, Middelburg in the Netherlands, set up a cross-channel cooperation to promote the example of Etty as a Holocaust testimony of love and hope in a suffering world for our own times. The educational dimension of the project was presented in Middelburg and streamed live on 21st April 2023, at https://ettyhillesumhuis.nl/. The project is a Straits Committee Small Project Initiative, co-funded by Kent County Council and Provincie Zeeland.
The
Media Coverage
A commissioning editor from the Hearst group contacted me in autumn 2020. Features on the power of poetry for health and wellbeing have since appeared in Red magazine, Good Housekeeping and Prima. Links to the features are on the Resources page.
Victoria Field
was born in London in 1963 and grew up in rural Kent. Her first degree was in Experimental Psychology at the University of Sussex, followed by teacher training at what was then Brighton Polytechnic. She was a Lecturer in Psychology at West Cheshire College before joining the British Council and serving in Turkey, Russia and Pakistan. She completed an MA in Cultural Policy and Administration at Warwick University. She is a former Director of Survivors Poetry and during twelve years in Cornwall, established the Kernow Education Arts Partnership. She subsequently qualified as a Certified Poetry Therapist and now works as a researcher, writer and poetry therapist, based in Canterbury, Kent, UK.
She writes poetry, fiction, drama and memoir and translates from the Georgian. She contributes articles, reviews and blogs on therapeutic writing to many publications. She was a Hawthornden Fellow in 2012. She is an Associate Artist at The Poetry Exchange. Her regular column for Mslexia magazine, Crafting a Cure, exploring the links between creative writing and wellbeing ran until 2022. She is an Associate in the Academy for Sustainable Futures at Canterbury Christ Church University.
She is married to Eduard Heyning and they collaborate on projects combining original music and poetry related to spirituality. See www.heyning.nu
She is a Course Director for the Professional Writing Academy – details here.
In the past few years she has been commissioned by, or worked for, University of Bournemouth, Conscious Cafe, University of Glasgow, Bright Shadow, Mslexia magazine, Kent County Council, Our Stour, Teesside University, the Metanoia Institute, Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome, Canterbury Christ Church University, Lapidus International, London Arts for Health Forum, Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre, Funder Films CIC, Wise Words and Workers of Art, as well as working in collaboration with other organisations and individuals.
