The Story of the Poetry Retreats
We are disconnected from the outdoors, from writing and from understanding ourselves. This is as true of children as it is of adults.
In 2016, whilst working as a primary teacher in East London, I co-created the idea for a poetry retreat for Year 5 pupils across five local schools. It would be a break from the city, an encounter with nature, and a chance for children to really write.
Year by year, the project developed, sprouting interesting off-shoots - a retreat for 7-11 year olds in the New Forest, a two-day retreat for Year 4s hosted in a scout centre.
It became international. I travelled out to Upstate New York, to run a mythology and poetry retreat for 10-12 year olds. To India to host poetry retreats for middle schoolers, in Uttar Pradesh.
We now have the prospect of developing poetry retreats for adults too.
Jonny Walker
I am a specialist teacher, poet and children’s author, based in East London.
Most of my days are spent writing and teaching about the peculiar topics that have continued to obsess me since my own childhood - mythology, folklore and poetry.
To date, I’ve led 20 poetry retreats.
The ethos of the Poetry Retreat is the same as my ethos as an educator: everybody has a need to feel seen, to feel safe and to feel like somebody.
Poetry Retreats empower writers of all ages to play, to experiment, to create and to connect.
Nothing lofty and obtuse - nothing pretentious.
It’s about celebrating that we all have things to say, and protecting the space that lets us think and write about life.
My children’s books have sold over 100,000 copies, and are published by HarperCollins, Scholastic and OUP. They can be found in schools across the UK.
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