{"id":89684,"date":"2026-02-03T07:24:33","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T07:24:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/?p=89684"},"modified":"2026-02-03T07:24:48","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T07:24:48","slug":"learning-political-poetry-writing-taught-by-an-angry-poet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/2026\/02\/03\/learning-political-poetry-writing-taught-by-an-angry-poet\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning political poetry writing – taught by an angry poet"},"content":{"rendered":"

An old friend of mine, the poet Steve Pottinger, put this on his Substack yesterday<\/a>, and I reproduce it here with his permission:<\/em><\/p>\n

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If you\u2019ve been following my Substack for more than a couple of minutes, you\u2019ll be well aware that I\u2019m fairly engaged, politically, and not afraid of speaking out when I feel there\u2019s something that needs saying. Mostly \u2013\u00a0but not always \u2013 I do this when I can express my feelings in a reasonably articulate way, even if that\u2019s been preceded by a string of days where I\u2019ve done little more than wander round the house muttering ******* **** about [insert right-wing politician of choice here]<\/p>\n

I write poetry about the world because the world fascinates me (how could it not?) and I write political poetry because politics is, first and foremost, about people. It\u2019s about how we, as a society, decide how we structure our communities. It\u2019s about who we help, how we do it, and what happens to people who get left behind. It\u2019s about you. It\u2019s about me. It\u2019s about connection, it\u2019s about justice, it\u2019s about humanity (and a whole lot more besides, but I\u2019m sure you get the picture).<\/p>\n

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Right now [poet waves a languid arm at the binfire which is much of modern life] poets who write about politics certainly aren\u2019t short of subject matter. But \u2013\u00a0if you\u2019ve been itching to put pen to paper \u2013 how do you begin to write political poetry? How do you write\u00a0good<\/em>\u00a0political poetry? Why bother writing it at all? Does it change anything? Are there pitfalls to avoid? Are there clich\u00e9s to tiptoe carefully around? Must you wear a hairshirt while writing it? And where can you send it once it\u2019s done?<\/p>\n

So many questions. So many reasons not to pick up the pen. So let\u2019s change that.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be running a poetry workshop on Zoom at 11 am on Sunday, March 1st. We\u2019ll be looking at what political poetry is and how writing it can be hugely empowering. Yes, I used the \u2018e\u2019 word. I\u2019ve shocked myself. But writing poetry about what\u2019s going on in the world can be a vital step in reminding yourself that you have a voice, that you\u2019ve got something to say, that change\/resistance\/imagining a better world is<\/em>\u00a0indeed possible.<\/p>\n

If you fancy coming along to this workshop, drop me a line. If you\u2019ve got friends who might want to take part, tell them to get in touch. It\u2019ll be a PAYF event because I don\u2019t want anyone to be excluded because they\u2019re skint, and any money raised will go to Freedom From Torture, who\u2019ll do far more good with it than I can.<\/p>\n

And now, back to wandering round the house, muttering about politicians.<\/p>\n

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I suspect this workshop will be really good.<\/p>\n

You can message Steve via his Substack here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And this is Steve, at his best in my opinion, albeit a few years ago now:<\/p>\n