Date/Time
Date(s) - Mon 20th Jul - Sat 25th Jul, 2026
All Day
Location
Moniack Mhor, Kiltarlity, Inverness-shire , IV4 7HT
LOOK! Poetry of Observation and Witness
Join award winning poets Kim Moore and Clare Shaw for an immersive poetry residential. Through workshops, readings and shared reflection, we’ll explore poetry as a powerful act of noticing – of bearing witness to the world around us and within us. Whether it’s the flicker of a streetlamp, a fragment of a memory or the pulse of a protest, we will celebrate the role of a poet as observer, transformer and sense-maker. Come ready to look closely and write boldly.
Tutors
Kim Moore’s first collection The Art of Falling (Seren 2015) won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. Her second collection All The Men I Never Married (Seren, 2021) won the 2022 Forward Prize for Best Collection. She is also the author of two non-fiction books: What the Trumpet Taught Me (Smith/Doorstop, 2022) and Are You Judging Me Yet? Poetry and Everyday Sexism (Seren, 2023). She is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her third poetry collection The House of Broken Things will be published by Corsair in May 2026.
Clare Shaw (they/them) has four poetry collections with Bloodaxe. Their last collection won a Northern Writer’s Award and was a Poetry Society Book of the Year; their fifth collection “I Know What I Saw” will be published with Bloodaxe in early 2027. They also write creative nonfiction, and recently co-edited “The Book of Bogs” published by Little Toller in 2025. Drawing on their background in mental health and their passion for nature and place, Clare’s writing often engages with the intersections of ecology, resilience and social justice. They are a keen advocate for creative writing as a tool of social and personal change, and they work with organisations across the UK – from workplaces, schools and community groups to literary organisations like Wordsworth Grasmere, the Royal Literary Fund and the Arvon Foundation.
Guest Reader
tbc
Fees
The full fee for this course is £740. This includes your accommodation in a single room with shared bathroom, all meals, hot drinks and snacks from Monday afternoon until Saturday morning, and your tuition. For more information about the format and practicalities of our courses, tutored courses, and retreats, please visit our About the Residential Courses & Retreats page..
A limited number of en-suite rooms are available, which can be booked in advance for a £50 surcharge. We will also reserve an en-suite room for anyone who may need it due to a medical condition. This will be offered out as an upgrade nearer the course start date if it is not needed.
A limited number of Twin Room places are available at a discounted price of £690 per person. When booking a Twin Room place, please tell us in the comments box which gender you are and which gender(s) you are comfortable sharing a room with. This information will remain confidential.
A small single room with a skylight is available at a discounted price of £715. Please note this room does not have an ordinary window, only a small skylight.
A deposit is required to secure your place, which is non-refundable after a 14-day cooling-off period. The balance payment of £590 is due six weeks before the course begins. Please read our Terms & Conditions for full details about our cancellation policy. If you would like to pay the full amount in advance, please email info@moniackmhor.org.uk.
Bursaries are always available, and you also have the option to pay in instalments. If you have any problems paying online, or wish to discuss paying in instalments or applying for financial help, or would simply like assistance, please contact us by emailing info@moniackmhor.org.uk.
Access
Please let us know in your booking form if you have any access requirements, for example a ground floor bedroom and / or access to a step-free accessible shower room. We also reserve one en-suite bedroom per course for anyone who may need this due to a medical condition. For more information about access to our courses, please visit our Access page.
Terms and Conditions
Please read our Terms & Conditions before booking.
Bookings
This event is fully booked. Please email info@moniackmhor.org.uk to be added to the waiting list.