Our poet in residence Olga Dermott-Bond will be leading a new workshop, where you will be inspired to explore some hidden voices of the Coffin Works and discover your own voice through writing.

In this friendly, supportive and informal workshop you will have the opportunity to explore some poems, roam the museum to find inspiration from the amazing objects and artefacts, and be led through writing exercises in order to create some exciting new writing.

To give an introduction to the history of the Newman Brothers’ Victorian factory, you will enjoy a guided tour of the ground floor of our museum. Then will be able explore the rest throughout the workshop with Olga and volunteer enablers to answer any questions.

Included in the workshop: resources created by Olga, access to the museum, tea coffee and refreshments.

This workshop is suitable for anyone – everyone is welcome! Whether you are new to writing, already writing poetry or someone who enjoys history or museums, you will love the experience of writing in such a unique setting.

Biography: Olga Dermott-Bond FRSA

Olga is originally from Northern Ireland, and lives in Warwickshire. She has published two pamphlets: apple, fallen (Against the Grain Press, 2020) and A Sky full of strange specimens (Nine Pens Press, 2021). Her first full collection Frieze was recently featured in The Guardian. She has won competitions including the BBC Proms poetry competition, Welshpool and Poetry on Loan poetry competitions. She is currently a managing editor for Irish poetry journal Dodging the Rain. She works as a teacher and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.