Poetry Workshop: Remembrance

Join Isabel Palmer for a series of creative poetry exercises that draw on the work of Shakespeare and the theme of Remembrance.

When her son Harry was deployed to Afghanistan with the British Army, poet Isabel Palmer sent him packages every week. Among the snacks, she made sure to include a selection of verses from Shakespeare, providing Harry with a regular reminder of home.

This small act is testament to the power that poetry has to connect people and convey emotion at the most difficult times.

This Remembrance Day, Isabel will be leading a series of creative exercises to help develop your poetry skills. During the workshop, participants will work together to create a crowdsourced poem inspired by the National Army Museum’s rich collections and the works of Shakespeare.

This event accompanies our Shakespeare and War exhibition.

About Isabel Palmer

Isabel Palmer is a poet and former psychiatric nursing auxiliary in a military hospital, English teacher and County Adviser. On winning the inaugural National Army Poetry Competition in 2018, she became Poet in Residence at the National Army Museum, working with school groups and Chelsea Pensioners. She has also run poetry workshops for Help for Heroes and other veterans. 

Her poems have featured in the national press, magazines, anthologies and on BBC Radio 4. She has published two pamphlets: 'Ground Signs', a Poetry Book Society Pamphlet Choice (Flarestack Poets) and 'Aftermath' (Clutag Press). Her first full collection, 'Atmospherics', with a foreword by Andrew Motion, was published in 'Home Front' (Bloodaxe). She won the International Poets Meet Politics Competition in 2020.