Writing Poetry & Landscape
Masterclass with Alycia Pirmohamed
Attendance options:
We are thrilled to launch the first of our Masterclass Series with celebrated poet and friend of the bookshop, Alycia Pirmohamed!
This masterclass will take place in the bookshop, and your booking includes a complimentary notebook and pencil to take notes. During the evening of the masterclass, you will also be entitled to 10% discount on Another Way to Split Water.
In her phenomenal collection, Another Way to Split Water (Polygon, 2022), Alycia explored how one's identity can shift and transform with dreamlike, magnetic language. It's an incredible meditation on belonging and the natural world, and Alycia will be at the bookshop to expand more on her writing practice with tips and exercises. Come prepared to take notes, engage in conversation, and participate in writing exercises.
Alycia has won numerous awards for her poetry, including the 2019 CBC Poetry Prize, a Pushcart Prize, and the 2020 Edwin Morgan Poetry Award. And in 2023, she won the Nan Shepherd Prize for her nonfiction debut A Beautiful and Vital Place, forthcoming from Canongate. Alycia also co-founded the Scottish BPOC Writers Network.
Please note: Tickets for our events are non-refundable. Professional photography and videography may take place during this event. Thank you for your understanding.
Participants:
Alycia Pirmohamed Author
Alycia Pirmohamed is a Canadian-born poet based in Scotland. She is the author of Another Way to Split Water, as well as the pamphlets Hinge and Faces that Fled the Wind, and the collaborative essay Second Memory, which was co-authored with Pratyusha.
She is the co-founder of the Scottish BPOC Writers Network, a co-organiser of the Ledbury Poetry Critics Program, and she currently teaches on the MSt. Creative Writing at the University of Cambridge.
Alycia has held post-doctoral positions at University Edinburgh and at the University of Liverpool, and she received an MFA from the University of Oregon and a PhD from the University of Edinburgh. She is the recipient of several awards, including the 2019 CBC Poetry Prize and the 2020 Edwin Morgan Poetry Award.
The venue
The Portobello Bookshop
46 Portobello High Street
Edinburgh
EH15 1DA
Telephone: 0131 629 6756
Website: www.theportobellobookshop.com
Wheelchair Access
We have a ramp at the front of the shop which has a ratio of 1:10 and loading capacity of 300kg, and so should be able to be used by most wheelchair users or those with mobility vehicles. The front doors are fully automated. Our shop interior is designed to allow access throughout for wheelchair users and prams, though please note there is only 700mm wide clearance to access the staff toilet.
Sound
We use a PA system to enhance the audio at our live events. We also have a hearing loop system installed, if you’d like to use our loop system during an event please let us know and we’ll make sure we have it set up and connected to the live audio feed during the event. If you wish to attend an event and require BSL interpretation, please give us a few weeks notice and we’ll do our best to arrange an interpreter.