The Shaking Legs Poetry Club
About the Poetry Club
The idea for the 'Shaking Legs Poetry Club' was birthed from much enthusiasm from members of our walk and talk therapy group. I have run a poetry club before in Australia with young people in the mental health service 'Headspace' so it was with much joy that we discovered that outside of walking many people have found reading and writing poetry to be a space for peace, reflection, and energy in their lives. In conversation around what it was that poetry meant to people, there was the idea that poetry manages to capture things in our everyday lives that can often go unnoticed. It can turn black and white days into vivid memories filled with colour. As one founding poetry club member, the published poet Hanna Buklieieva, born in Ukraine and now residing in Chile wrote in a poetic response to the conversation:
​
My legs have been shaking,
And eyes start to spark,
The process of making,
Brings light after dark.
​
Hence the name for our group "The Shaking Legs Poetry Club"!
​
As a narrative therapist and lover of poetry reading and writing my hope for this group is to create a 'circle of security' where creativity can be fostered and the very real stories of our lives nurtured and linked together through this poetic endeavour. I am hoping it will also lead to many other community centred projects as run by the members themselves.
​
If you are curious about the link between narrative therapy and poetry therapy (also known as bibliotherapy), you can read more about it here in this recent article by Mariana Casale "Bibliotherapy as Narrative PracticeReader Empowerment Through Re-Authoring Conversations"
​
​
​​​​​​​​​​
​​
SPECIAL EVENT:
​
Our poetry club was greatly saddened by the loss and devastation caused to the communities in the Ñuble and Biobio regions from the wildfires of this Summer of 2026. We wanted to put on an event to raise money in support of those re-building their lives.
In this special poetry session we will be exploring one of Gabriela's poems 'fuego' and exploring our own experiences of loss and beginning again.
​
Those affected by the fires are welcome to participate for free.
​​
The cost is 5,000CLP with all proceeds going to the foundation 'Techo para Chile'
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​​
​
We hope you can join us. If you cannot join but would like to donate, please donate directly to through the website: https://cl.techo.org/haztesocio/#donacion_inmediata
​
​
​
​
​​
​​​​​​​​​​​​
Gabriela Mistral series: On Home and Country
March 2026​
​
In this series we explore four themes concerned with home, landscape, and longing for home country. In this we are accompanied by the poems of Gabriela Mistral and her work 'Poema de Chile' which she wrote almost entirely from her home in New York.
Join us to join fragments, poems, and stories about home country and learn more about Gabriela Mistral's Chile from this fascinating nobel laureate and person.
​
Poems are sent out the Friday before each session to those enrolled so sign up early to be a part of the whatsapp group. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
​
Sunday 8 March 2026 10am-11
Sunday 15 March 2026 10am-11
Sunday 22 March 2026 10am-11
Sunday 29 March 2026 10am-11
​
Cost: 20,000CLP for the series.
​
​
​
​
