Masterclass: Peter Gizzi
One of America’s best-known poets, Peter Gizzi, shares insights on the art of poetic writing and navigating the question of ‘who is speaking’ in poetry.
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Discover new ways of writing under the guidance of Gizzi, author of the 2024 TS Eliot Prize-winning collection Fierce Elegy.
The masterclass centres on a compelling question: ‘Who is speaking?’ Explore the relationship between world and word, and learn to ask who is speaking in a poem.
Dive into key aspects of poetry including timing, mystery, presence and intimacy. Leave with sharper techniques and clearer insights into the art of writing poetry.
Gizzi has described his own work as ‘a way to transform a broken heart in a fierce world into a fierce heart in a broken world’. This is a unique opportunity to spend two hours under the guidance of a poet who ‘redeclares the elegy as the undying practice of the living’ (The Guardian).
Need to know
Times & tickets
Dates, times and prices
Dates & times
12 Jul 2026, 10am
Standard entry
from £27 + £4 booking fee
Ticket prices may be adjusted without notice to reflect demand.
Concessions
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Refunds and exchanges
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Poetry International Multi-buy discount
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Two events: 10% discount
Three events: 15% discount
Four events: 20% discount
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For your visit
This event is held at the Royal Festival Hall Southbank Centre
The Royal Festival Hall is open six days a week.
Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 11pm
Monday, closed.
Plan your visit
The Royal Festival Hall is home to our largest auditorium as well as The Clore Ballroom, National Poetry Library, Members’ Lounge, Festival Bar & Kitchen, Ballroom Cafe and Skylon restaurant.
Getting here
Our address is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
The nearest tube stations to us are Waterloo and Embankment; Waterloo is also the nearest train station. And more than 20 different London bus routes pass within 500 metres of our venues. More information on getting here by rail, road or river is available on our Getting here page.
We’re cash-free
Please note that we’re unable to accept cash payments across our venues.
Access
We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
All help points, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access.
All information about booking wheelchair spaces, step-free access, blue badge parking, access maps and guides and other help available whilst you’re here, including details about our Access Scheme, can be found on our Access page.
Food & drink
On Level 2 of our Royal Festival Hall you can grab a slice of life by the Thames with drinks and freshly made pizza at our Festival Bar & Kitchen which opens out onto our Riverside Terrace. You can grab a coffee and a slice of freshly made cake from our Ballroom Cafe. Or alternatively enjoy destination dining in the restaurant at Skylon.
From coffee to cocktails, filling favourites to fine dining, plus some of London’s best street food – it’s all here at the Southbank Centre.