Going Deep and Letting Go: The Creative Art of Revising Poems (virtual) with Margo Wheaton 

As poets, we often “just know” when a poem isn’t working. But putting our finger on the problem—and knowing how to address it—can be difficult.

This 4-part workshop offer poets the opportunity to deeply engage the creative—and even transformational— process of revising poems in a warmly supportive group environment.

Through a combination of short readings, writing exercises, and focussed discussions, participants will learn practical strategies with the ultimate goal of learning how to self-edit and revise their own poems.

Topics will include an overview of the revising and revisioning process; discovering the heart of the poem; looking for ‘soft spots’; precise diction and vibrant details; rhythm and flow; and mining the poem’s thematic terrain. We will also discuss how to know when a poem is finished, the process of decluttering, and learning to voice what’s essential.

About the instructor: Margo Wheaton is the author of Rags of Night in Our Mouths (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2022) and Wild Green Light (Pottersfield Press, 2021), co-authored with David Adams Richards. Her debut collection, The Unlit Path Behind the House, received the Fred Kerner Award from the Canadian Authors Association and was shortlisted for the J.M. Abraham Award, The Gerald Lampert Award, the Fred Cogswell Award, and the Relit Award. Margo is an associate editor at The Dalhousie Review and currently works as a writing consultant, mentor, and workshop facilitator.

Recommended experience level: New, emerging, and early-career poets (About recommended experience levels)

Participant cap: 12

Location: Zoom

Dates of 4-week workshop: RESCHEDULED to Tuesdays, Feb 11 + Feb 18 + Feb 25 + Mar 4, 2025 (7:00pm to 9:00pm Atlantic)

Registration for 2025 General Members: $169

Registration for non-members: $234 (includes 2025 General Membership in WFNS)

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Simultaneous Submissions

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) administers some programs (and special projects) that involve print and/or digital publication of ‘selected’ or ‘winning’ entries. In most cases, writing submitted to these programs and projects must not be previously published and must not be simultaneously under consideration for publication by another organization. Why? Because our assessment and selection processes depends on all submitted writing being available for first publication. If writing selected for publication by WFNS has already been published or is published by another organization firstcopyright issues will likely make it impossible for WFNS to (re-)publish that writing.

When simultaneous submissions to a WFNS program are not permitted, it means the following:

  • You may not submit writing that has been accepted for future publication by another organization.
  • You may not submit writing that is currently being considered for publication by another organization—or for another prize that includes publication.
  • The writing submitted to WFNS may not be submitted for publication to another organization until the WFNS program results are communicated. Results will be communicated directly to you by email and often also through the public announcement of a shortlist or list of winners. Once your writing is no longer being considered for the WFNS program, you are free to submit it elsewhere.
    • If you wish to submit your entry elsewhere before WFNS program results have been announced, you must first contact WFNS to withdraw your entry. Any entry fee cannot be refunded.

Prohibitions on simultaneous submission do not apply to multiple WFNS programs. You are always permitted to submit the same unpublished writing to multiple WFNS programs (and special projects) at the same time, such as the Alistair MacLeod Mentorship Program, the Emerging Writers Prizes, the Jampolis Cottage Residency Program, the Message on a Bottle contest, the Nova Writes Competition, and any WFNS projects involving one-time or recurring special publications.

Recommended Experience Levels

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) recommends that participants in any given workshop have similar levels of creative writing and / or publication experience. This ensures that each participant gets value from the workshop⁠ and is presented with information, strategies, and skills that suit their career stage. The “Recommended experience level” section of each workshop description refers to the following definitions used by WFNS.

  • New writers: those with less than two years’ creative writing experience and/or no short-form publications (e.g., short stories, personal essays, or poems in literary magazines, journals, anthologies, or chapbooks).
  • Emerging writers: those with more than two years’ creative writing experience and/or numerous short-form publications.
  • Early-career authors: those with 1 or 2 book-length publications or the equivalent in book-length and short-form publications.
  • Established authors: those with 3 or 4 book-length publications.
  • Professional authors: those with 5 or more book-length publications.

Please keep in mind that each form of creative writing (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and writing for children and young adults) provides you with a unique set of experiences and skills, so you might consider yourself an ‘established author’ in one form but a ‘new writer’ in another.

For “intensive” and “masterclass” creative writing workshops, which provide more opportunities for peer-to-peer feedback, the recommended experience level should be followed closely.

For all other workshops, the recommended experience level is just that—a recommendation—and we encourage potential participants to follow their own judgment when registering.

If you’re uncertain of your experience level with regard to any particular workshop, please feel free to contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca