Public sector professionals pen poems for University of Northampton project

A research and creative writing project that gives a voice to education, health and social care professionals working lives continues with the publication of its third journal of poems.

Public Sector Poetry also advocates for these professionals, provides insight into the challenges and joys of their work through poetry, and connects and supports people in those sectors through the power of creative writing.

And academic Korrin Smith-Whitehouse and her team of special guest editors – including current journal editor Hannah Lowe, a former English teacher who has won the Costa Book of the Year Award and been shortlisted for the prestigious T.S. Eliot Poetry Prize in 2021 – have been busy. To date, they have received more than 400 poems from across the UK, with 50 published in the three journals so far issued.

For the third journal, contributions come from a consultant neonatologist, a Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist, primary school teachers, a social worker and more. Topics covered include newborn baby health checks, conversations with a manager about sickness absence and a passionate defence against critics of female doctors.

The Public Sector Poetry team also research the experiences of public sector professionals and the value poetry writing can bring to them and our understanding of what they do.

One of the research strands currently running is looking at how using poetry as a reflection tool can help students of UON’s Learning and Teaching Foundation Degree. Some of Public Sector Poetry’s published writers have been delivering sessions.

Korrin says: “It is a pleasure to unveil our third collection of poems. Considering this third edition submitted poems comes just after a period of national strikes across the health and education sectors, sharing poems about how vital these professionals are to our everyday lives couldn’t be timelier.

“We’re also having conversations with healthcare trusts in England about extending our poetry masterclasses to their staff members. We hope to develop this and, in time, spread ‘creative writing as therapeutic and reflective practice’ events further; if you wish to know more, please get in touch.”

See the Public Sector Poetry website to catch up on the latest about the project. You can follow their conversations on Instagram/@publicsectorpoetry