Poetry and Loss Workshops: Towards Healing

A Creative Health Poetry Workshop Series

Mondays, 2–4pm | 13 April – 11 May
York Gardens Library, Wandsworth

Join poet and facilitator Jemilea Wisdom-Baako for a gentle five-week poetry workshop series exploring experiences of loss, memory and healing through reading and writing.

These sessions offer a welcoming and supportive space to reflect on loss in its many forms — including bereavement, life transitions, migration, relationship change and other moments of personal transformation. Through reading powerful poems and exploring creative writing prompts, participants will have the opportunity to express their thoughts and experiences in a safe and thoughtful environment.

No previous writing experience is needed. Whether you are new to poetry or already enjoy writing, the sessions will support you to explore language, reflection and creativity at your own pace.

• Reading and discussing poems that explore grief, memory and resilience
• Guided writing exercises to help you develop your own poetry
• A supportive group environment for reflection and creative expression
• Opportunities to share writing (optional)

These workshops are open to adults who would like to explore experiences of loss and change through poetry in a supportive and creative setting. You do not need to have experienced a recent bereavement — the sessions welcome anyone navigating life’s many forms of loss.

York Gardens Library, part of Wandsworth Libraries, is proud to collaborate with Writerz and Scribez on a creative health initiative that celebrates the power of public libraries as welcoming spaces for connection, reflection and self-expression. Building on the legacy of Wandsworth’s London Borough of Culture, this partnership brings an inclusive expressive arts programme into the heart of the library.

As part of the National Year of Reading 2026, the project highlights poetry as one of the many ways people can engage with reading in all its forms — discovering comfort, creativity and community through words.

We invite everyone to get involved and #GoAllIn

Jemilea Wisdom-Baako is a poet, facilitator and Creative Health practitioner who creates spaces where people can explore personal experiences through poetry and storytelling. Her Poetry & Loss workshops have supported participants to find language for grief, memory and transformation through shared creative practice.

This is a creative workshop rather than a therapeutic or counselling session. Participants are welcome to engage at their own pace and sharing writing is always optional.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher Writerz and Scribez