by Shikha Bansal
Nia Broomhall is an award-winning poet and holds an MA with distinction in Creative Writing from Lancaster University. She is Poet in Residence at Painshill Park in Cobham and won the 2023 Mslexia Women’s Poetry Pamphlet Competition for her debut pamphlet Backalong, published by Bloodaxe Books in September 2024.
In her two-hour workshop on 11 November, attended on Zoom by an intimate gathering of passionate poets and expertly moderated by Holly Sykes, Nia introduced WiPS members and guests to evocative and beautifully crafted poems and writing prompts to get the group started. She managed to give us a sense of safety and create an atmosphere of ease wherein we could express ourselves freely and share our first formed words without fear of judgement or censure.
It was a treat to spend an evening with like-minded writers reading, writing and discussing poetry, and leaving the workshop with several pieces of poetry in draft. It is not very often we get a chance to indulge in an evening of poetry and attempt to articulate that which is often times inexpressible. In the words of Robert Frost, “A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness.” Nia Broomhall helped us draw out from our individual wells of experiences and do just that. It was a perfect way to end a week day and we are grateful to Nia for her compassionate leadership.