Join acclaimed poet and environmental activist Emma Must for a creative workshop exploring how poetry can respond to and reflect the natural world. Drawing on ecopoetry and lived experience, Emma will guide participants in writing that engages deeply with place, nature, and climate. No prior poetry experience needed—just curiosity and care.
Emma Must is a poet living in Belfast since 2011. She is passionate about the natural world and was formerly a full-time campaigner on environment and development issues. Emma completed a PhD in English (Creative Writing) at Queen’s, focusing on ecopoetry and ecocriticism.
She has lived and worked overseas in China, Mexico, Spain (and on the Isle of Wight!) and for shorter periods in India, South-east Asia and the USA. In the mid-nineties she lived and worked for a few months at Tinker's Bubble low impact community in Somerset.
Her poems have been published widely in magazines and journals in the UK, Ireland and elsewhere, and have received numerous prizes. Emma's first full-length poetry collection, The Ballad of Yellow Wednesday (Valley Press, 2022) was longlisted for The Laurel Prize 2023, alongside collections by Jorie Graham, Sharon Olds, Don Paterson, Michael Longley, Zaffar Kunial, Jane Clarke, Matthew Hollis, Grace Wells, and others. It was also Highly Commended in the 2023 Forward Prizes.
Emma teaches academic writing and creative writing in universities, in the community, and online.
Join Emma for a workshop in how to creatively write about the natural world.
Supported by Climate + and SECA - Queen’s University Belfast