Ian; "I have such mixed feelings about workshops. On the one hand, I  
agree that they can easily lead to a stifling conformity..... On the  
other hand..."

I have mixed feeling too Ian. I wish those old workshops hadn't done  
what I described, but they did. And of course there are other sides to  
this - one of which is the therapeutic feel-good side of poetry  
workshops, prevalent among the new-agers etc. I know personally a poet  
who actually makes a living out of doing workshops and courses (there  
are not many who can do that, even now) and I respect what she does.  
Her classes really enjoy their workshops and get a lot from them  
personally, but I don't think she has ever created any long-term  
writers. That approach produces a kind of inward-looking, hyper  
subjective view of poetry in its participants - harmless I suppose,  
but I know that if we all had that attitude poetry would digress even  
further away from being an art form.

I've done a few workshops myself, but not much, because i've never  
been comfortable with them - I could never quite work out what was  
required of me, not really. Workshops like this are a different animal  
to 'courses', and different again to round-table forums. Doing poetry  
with kids is completely different again - I can do that, (being a  
teacher probably helps) - children don't have the baggage of adults  
such as ideas about what poetry should be, and children know that  
anything a teacher says is always provisional, or to be taken with a  
pinch of salt - it's instinctive. Adults are so delicate and touchy.

And of course your comments about the "unfortunate emphasis at the  
moment on 'assessment' - all part of the current government obsession  
(which is also an obsession of corporations) with controlling people  
through so-called 'measurable criteria'.  This is one of the most  
insidious aspects of creative writing courses and workshops" TRUE TRUE  
TRUE and it is so important, but this is something new - it has crept  
in more recently. The psychology behind this one is different too,  
there is a different relationship between teacher and pupil once any  
form of official grading becomes involves - a workshop as part of an  
ongoing 'course of study' is not the same thing, it has a new set of  
problems, as those you pointed out. It is very difficult to talk about  
because so many poets now are involved somewhere with academia and at  
times if often feels that to be looked upon as a worthwhile poet you  
have to have the letters after your name or be teaching those who want  
the letters after their name. I went to a reading a few months ago  
where every poet, except the two main ones (who had no letters after  
their names what-so-ever) was introduced with a long list of what post- 
grads they had and what institution they taught in etc etc - as though  
it had any relevance. It doesn't, but I think the people who ran this  
event really thought that it was relevant - which is quite  
frightening. Sorry - gone off the point now.

Tim A.