Date: 4th October 2025

Time: 10:00am – 4:00pm

Location: WorkWest, Hannahstown Hill, Belfast

In this indoor and outdoor workshop, Dr Mary Montague explores the deep relationship between birds and poetry. We will look at our rich tradition of avian poetry across a range of species to explore the myriad ways birds have inspired us since ancient times. We will also reflect on how the poetry of birds can be a guide in the contemporary ecological crisis, and how human creativity can lead us to care more passionately and effectively for the environment. As well as taking the time to read and enjoy poems about birds, we will also ramble out of doors to watch local species and refresh our experience of poetry. Come and let the wonder of birds and words together enhance your appreciation of the natural world.

Dr Mary Montague is a poet and nature writer, with a PhD in ornithology. She is a regular contributor to The Guardian’s “Country Diary”. As well as her own poetry collections Black Wolf on a White Plain (Summer Palace Press 2001) and Tribe (Dedalus Press 2008), Mary’s work has been widely anthologised, including in: Under the Changing Skies: the best of the Country Diary, 2018-2024 (Faber 2024); and The Word Ark: a Pocket Book of Animal Poems (Dedalus, 2020). She believes passionately in the power of the arts to transform our response to the contemporary ecological and biodiversity crises.