The main activity at TPS meetings is to workshop our poems. The format is simple, developed to promote the exchange of comments and suggestions in a friendly and respectful atmosphere. Everyone is most welcome to join us at any of the workshop meetings. You do not have to bring a poem on your first visit.
If you are writing in a lonely vacuum, find or form a group with other poets. It will enhance your work and theirs too. If you live close to Hamilton, come and join us!
Workshop Format: The poet brings 24 copies which are passed out to those present, and reads the poem while the rest of us follow along on the printed copy. Then the group discusses the poem, provi
ding feedback on what seems to work or not work well for the reader, and making suggestions. The poet listens, but makes no comment. It is by listening to all the opinions that a sense of what enhances the poem becomes clear. There is often disagreement. After the group has finished discussing the poem, the poet has the chance to comment, if he or she wishes to do so. this Checklist for Critiquing a Poem (available at workshops or to print out). >>>>>
WORKSHOP GUIDELINES:
- Poets are encouraged to put their email on their poems to receive private feedback from other poets after each workshop, or you can make notes on the page to give to the poet at the end of workshop.
- Poets are encouraged to focus on the mechanics of a poem rather than offering subjective comments about how the poem makes them feel or what it reminds them of, unless of course, it’s literary allusion or another well-known poet’s style or themes.
- Please, focus on what the poem is doing via the “How to Critique a Poem” hand out (available on the website and at workshop) and also, remember that feedback can be both constructive and positive😊
- Longer poems (more than a page) should be shared in smaller pieces, due to time restraints. Further, longer poems need more time to be studied and critiqued in a useful way.
- If you arrive late, you will hold on to your poem until the break in order to avoid disruption.
2025-2026 Monthly Workshop & Open Mic Schedule
TPS workshops are open to the public. We meet on the 2nd Saturday each month from 2:00–4:00 p.m. Our meeting venue is the Westdale Public Library, 955 King St. W., Hamilton (unless otherwise noted). Bring 24 copies of your poem, or just come and sit in until you feel comfortable with the process.
Open Mics are open to the public. We meet on the 3rd Tuesday (except Mar. 24, 2026) each month from 6:30 – 9:00 pm. We meet at the Fool and Flagon, 2255 Barton St. E. Hamilton. Bring several poems that you wish to read, order a fine supper, and network with other poets.
NOTE: Should meeting details change, this website will be updated and members will be notified.
- Open Mic — January 20
- February 14 – Poet Talk — not a usual workshop…“The Love Poem.” – Poet, Norm Brown’s Somewhat Deep Dive into The Dynamics of The Love Poem for the Desperate and the Doomed (an attempt to answer the age-old question: Is the Love Poem a technical term – ergo, genre – or merely a descriptive phrase?)
- Open Mic — February 17
- Workshop — March 14
- Open Mic — March 24
- Workshop — April 11
- Open Mic — April 21
- May 9 (AGM) — Workshop to follow if time allows.
- Open Mic — May 19
- Open Mic — June 16
