Writing Engaging Poetry with Damen O'Brien

How to write poems that don’t bore your readers.

Have you ever fallen asleep while reading a book of poems? Did you ever wonder why so many poems felt the same? If so, you have been a victim of boring poetry. Your poetry should be memorable, enjoyable and fun.

In this workshop, multi-award-winning poet Damen O’Brien will give you some tips and exercises to help you avoid writing boring poetry. Learn to write poetry that readers, judges and editors will remember.

Learning outcomes

As part of this workshop, you will:

• Look at examples of interesting poetry.

• Identify ways you can improve your poetry to make it more enjoyable.

• Develop ideas to generate new poems.

• Create a poem that you can take away.

• Play with one of your drafts and see what you can make of it.

Format

This is an in-person workshop with a focus on craft; it will be held at State Library of Queensland. This workshop is suitable for poetry writers of all levels and backgrounds.

About Damen

Damen O’Brien is a multi-award-winning poet. In 2026, Damen won the AAALS Creative Writing Competition and 2nd Prize in the National Poetry Competition and the Magma Judge’s Prize. Damen has previously won the Moth Poetry Prize and the Peter Porter Poetry Prize. Damen has judged the Val Vallis Award and was a juror in the Montreal Poetry Prize. His poems have been nominated for a Pushcart and Best of the Net. Damen’s poems can be found in New Ohio Review, Aesthetica, Arc Poetry Magazine, Florida Review, Island and other journals. Damen’s latest book is Walking the Boundary (Pitt Street Poetry, 2024).

For more information about Queensland Writers Centre’s Program of Events and answers to FAQs, please visit: www.queenslandwriters.org.au/program-info