Poetry and Writing for Well-being

clare e. potter is a Welsh-speaking writer and performer. Her awards include two Literature Wales Writers’ Bursaries, the John Tripp Award for Spoken Poetry and the Jim Criddle prize for celebrating the Welsh language. She has translated the work of the National Poet of Wales, was a Hay Festival Writer at Work and performed at the Smithsonian Folk-Life Festival, USA. She also studied and taught in New Orleans for a decade. Her current focus is on well-being and learning through nature and she has had several residencies and commissions to create work around these themes. Thanks to Arts Council funding, clare is learning poetry therapy practice. Early in 2023 she will be presenting two BBC radio programmes about poetry. Her second collection was written with thanks to a Literature Wales Writers’ Bursary and a grant from the Society of Authors and will be published in 2024.

Jill Teague (they/them) is a Welsh writer, writing facilitator and Poetry Therapy Practitioner based in Eryri, north Wales. They note that living and working in a place of outstanding natural beauty has played a huge part in their healing and well-being and has helped sustain their own creative process. They are an Executive Director of iaPOETRY (the International Academy for Poetry Therapy), and a Master Mentor for the academy – mentoring and training potential Poetry Therapy Practitioners and those wishing to become mentors. They have received awards and scholarships from the National Association for Poetry Therapy and Wales Arts International, for pioneering work in the field of poetry therapy, as well as scholarships from BridgeXngs Poetry Center, New York. They also founded Out of the Blue Writing, where they facilitate writing groups, works with individuals and provides online courses.