Barbican Young Poets Showcase

A ‘fear poetics’: Lessons from the Latin American feminist neo-gothic
12.15–1.30pm, Frobisher Room 1
Barbican Young Poet, Soledad Santana 

In this talk, inspired by the rise of neo-gothic Latin American feminist literature, Soledad Santana guides participants through her conceptualisation of a ‘fear poetics’. The talk draws from interviews with prominent Latin American gothic and horror writers, literary analyses, and the intersections between political science, psychology, and anthropology to answer why writers are turning to horror and the gothic to reflect places and people haunted by histories of dictatorship, armed conflict, and ongoing climate crisis and extractivism. In the second part of this talk, Soledad invites participants to consider the relationship between fear and the ambiguity of language, and to re-imagine the place of (politicised) fear in poetry.

Six Lines of Separation 
12.15–1.30pm, Frobisher Room 2 
Barbican Young Poet, Conan Tan

Based on the popular idea “Six Degrees of Separation”, that each person is six or fewer social connections away from another, Six Lines of Separation aims to explore fresh combinations of words and images to inspire writers to think about ideas they may not have previously considered. How can you link jellyfish with heartbreak? Donuts with political revolutions? Kermit with morning breath? Together, we will create scenes and short poems linking two seemingly unconnected ideas and words to discover a new side on how we can play with language in our writing. This generative and discussion-based workshop will be introductory, accessible, and focused on discovering the fun and surprise in poetry.

Poetry, Photography and the Role of the ‘Reliable’ Narrator 
12.15–1.30pm, Frobisher Room 3 
Barbican Young Poet, Taylor Beidler 

In this cross-disciplinary workshop, writers and photographers alike are welcome into this hour-long space to deepen their knowledge of narrative practices within photography, and to build a toolkit of exercises when approaching text and image work. We will explore themes of identity, migration, place, and memory while discussing the role (or lack thereof) of a reliable narrator throughout cross-disciplinary and archival work. Join award-winning writer Taylor Beidler and award-winning photographer Quetzal Maucci for an open and inclusive afternoon of activities and discussions.

Poems of Place 
12.15–1.30pm, Frobisher Room 4 
Barbican Young Poet, Daniel Grimston 

What happens when we sink into a landscape, when we listen out for the voices we might miss in the everyday — from the past, from the future, from the cracks in the asphalt and the bark of the trees? Taking these voices into account, as well as our own personal poetics in response to place, we will walk through the Barbican and paint our own word-maps of this iconic venue. Join Daniel Grimston to explore its hidden stories and to see what you can discover for yourself.

Body Language
12.15–1.30pm, Frobisher Room 5
Barbican Young Poet, Jasmin Allenspach

Body language is our first language, the one we began speaking the second we were born. It transcends borders in our divided world. Tap into your body's poetry in this workshop led by multilingual writer and dancer Jasmin Allenspach. You'll discover how you can translate words into movement and how verbal and non-verbal poetry talk to each other. Open to all ages and abilities, no dance experience required – every body is a dancer’s body. Just bring your beautiful body and a poem (by a favourite poet or yourself) that you'd like to rediscover through dance. Let's sing our bodies electric!