Becoming a Poet

How Workshops, Community and Curiosity Shaped My Writing Life

For any readers wanting to get into the business of poetry: I didn’t set out with a grand plan to become a poet. In fact, my journey began quite simply—with a decision to attend a face-to-face poetry workshop. I wrote a poem instead of a short story for class one time and a member, Dani, suggested I try poetry instead.

I still remember that afternoon at City Lit: the circle of chairs, the quiet shuffling of notebooks, the mix of nerves and excitement. We read poems aloud, discussed what moved us, what puzzled us, what lingered. Each week, we were assigned a poem to write at home, and each week I returned with something new—experiments, images that surprised even me. The feedback I received there became the first scaffolding for my writing life.

After a few months, I worked up the courage to submit a poem to an anthology. I remember sitting in my local cafe, crafting each phrase, line and stanza. When the acceptance arrived, that small “yes” cracked something open. I continued taking workshops and attended a one-off session on how to submit poems, and how to format a cover letter and where to send work. It was the practical side of poetry, something I hadn’t even considered before. From there, I became what I can only describe as a workshop fan. If a poet offered a meeting on editing, I signed up.

I joined the Poetry Society, started going to readings, and registered with the Poetry Library. I browsed through publications, discovered authors I had not yet heard of. I read widely and closely.

I wrote sonnets and tried ghazals. I experimented with odd syllabics, let myself get lost in forms I barely understood, and slowly discovered which structures felt like home. I write a lot of free form, but I also like to challenge myself with secular, prose, and villanelles.

Writing has become a daily practice. Most mornings, I write three pages long hand.  I joined a writing community, London Writers Salon a few years ago. I show up Monday to Friday at 8 a.m.. Writing can be lonely so joining a community helps.

A lot of writing is rewriting; editing on the other hand, can go on forever. I’ve learned how easy it is to polish the original spirit out of a poem. To help myself, I keep copies of each draft in my Pages app, so I can go back and rescue earlier versions when needed.

Submitting work each month has become part of the rhythm too. I try not to take rejections personally. They’re simply part of the process—sometimes a matter of taste, timing, or fit. And in between the nos there have some yeses. Several poems have been short-listed with Alpine, Aurora, Bridport and highly commended with Erbacce. In 2024, I was honoured to be one of the joint winners of the Geoff Stevens Memorial Poetry Prize for a full collection.

My book is now available Indigo Dreams Publishing and Amazon, something I could never have imagined when I walked into that first workshop.

If there’s a thread that runs through all of this, it has to be writing from the heart and staying open—to spontaneity, to surprise, to language in all its shapes and possibilities. Poetry continues to teach me who I am. And every morning, when I sit down to write, the journey begins again. I attend open mic on Zoom and in person, which is another wonderful way to connect with other poets and listen to a variety of voices and poems that surprise, stir, and motivate me to become a better writer.

For more information about my debut poetry collection Wolves At My Door.

The collection explores emotional aftermath of a young child’s sudden separation from her parents and relocation to India, where she is raised by her maternal grandparents. A journey that shapes her identity as she grapples with cultural expectations, trauma, resilience, and self-discovery in the pursuit of freedom behind the confines of family and societal expectations.

https://indigodreamspublishing.com/ansuya-patel

Ansuya was a joint winner of Geoff Stevens Memorial Poetry Prize in 2024. Her debut collection is on sale at Indigo Dreams Publishing and Amazon. Her poems have been shortlisted for Bridport, Alpine, Aurora, highly commended at Erbacce. Her work has appeared in Allegro, Artemesia, BlackinWhite, Broken Spine, Crowstep, Drawn to the Light, Erbacce, Gypsophila, Half Way Down the Stairs, Ink Sweat and Tears, Kensington Poetry Trail, Last Stanza, PoetryKit, Rattle and Renard and elsewhere.

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