Perhaps I Am a Poet: Read my poems and write your own

Poetry has a unique way of supporting wellbeing. Reading a poem can engage your full attention. Poems can make you smile or cry, or help you see your own experiences more clearly. Writing poetry can be just as powerful - a creative process that is both healing in itself and rewarding in what it produces.

This book brings together over a hundred of my new poems in a wide range of styles and on many different themes. For some poems, I share what inspired them and analyse how their form and structure work.

Alongside my poems, there is a rich collection of more than twenty writing activities designed to help you create your own verses. I have used these exercises with many people, who have gone on to write inspiring poems of their own. The book also includes selected examples from fellow poets, offering further ideas and encouragement for your own poetic journey.

Gaye Manwaring

(c) 2026

happypoetess@outlook.com