About Wild Thing Poetry
We are a collective of poets who believe in the power of poetry to change the world.
Our Purpose
To facilitate connection between people and the natural world, using creativity to navigate and bear witness to the biodiversity crisis.
Our Priorities
Engaging with nature and the biodiversity crisis through creativity
Creating community through in-person connection
Getting people outside
Meet the collective
Founder
Tara is a London-based writer, audio producer and environmental activist. Founder of Wild Thing Poetry, she works to build community through creativity and connection with the natural world. Her poetry and writing have recently appeared in Free the Verse and Field Project magazines, and she is working with Transmission Roundhouse on an upcoming audio series.
Tara Brown
Co-Founder
Jess is a London-based poet and co-founder of eco-poetry collective Wild Thing Poetry. Her work has recently appeared in 14 magazine and the RSPB’s poetry anthology Grounded by Nature. She is also a writer and performer in the comedy sketch show The Best Women I Know. You can find her on instagram @jessgpoetry.
Jess Grynfeld
Lisa Kelly is a poet based in London. Her second collection, The House of the Interpreter (Carcanet), was a Poetry Book Society Summer 2023 Recommendation. Her first collection, A Map Towards Fluency (Carcanet), was shortlisted for the Michael Murphy Memorial Poetry Prize 2021. She co-edited the anthology, What Meets the Eye?: The Deaf Perspective (Arachne Press). She is Chair of Magma Poetry and co-edited the Grassroots (90); Solitude (83), Deaf (69) and Conversation (63) issues. She was shortlisted for the 2024 Forward Prizes for Poetry for Best Single Poem – Written; and is a Forward Prizes judge for 2025.
Lisa Kelly
David lives in Holloway and grew up in Hornsey. He is a trustee of Magma Poetry and has co-edited three issues of the magazine, most recently M89: the performance issue. David has recently had poems published in London Grip and the Crouch End Calling anthology and been commended in the Waltham Forest Poetry Competition. He is a former co-editor of Brittle Star.
David Floyd
Katie is a creative practitioner; a poet, facilitator and literary pharmacist at the Poetry Pharmacy, her work explores the connections we make in our lives. She is the cofounder and host of The Poetry Lounge; a monthly open mic night, growing community one poem at a time. Her work is published in Magma (Performance), Candlestick Press and is upcoming in ‘Grounded by Nature’.
Katie Dunstan
Our Story
Founded at an open mic in South East London by Tara and Jess, two poets who wanted to get outside.
We bonded over our shared experience of being creatives working corporate jobs in the sustainability sector.
We felt there was something missing for us, and in search of deeper connection with the poetry community, and ways to help us engage with our climate anxiety, we started laying plans.
A couple of months and a recruitment drive later, and we had a small collective of poets who felt the same way. Our collective meets every month to write, feedback on each others work, and to plan the wider work of the social enterprise.
We were lucky enough to receive some funding from the Woodland Trust to establish ourselves (through their Igniting Innovation Programme). We were also lucky enough to get involved with Transmission Roundhouse through their podcast academy for young creatives, which started our audio journey.
Our start up principles are start small, say yes, speak up and scale sustainably, and we have been blessed with some wonderful guides and mentors, who are backing us and supporting our journey.
We operate on a principle of partnership: we believe in the strength of community and we are always open to organisations and individuals with whom we can collaborate to fulfil our purpose: connecting people with nature through creativity.
How we engage
EVENTS & NEWS
With an emphasis on creating headspace and connection through in-person community, we run eco-poetry events in collaboration with community-oriented venues.
This website will also be a home to the reflections, news and thought pieces that emerge from our work
WORKSHOPS & OUTREACH
We are keen to work with environmental activists and young people, facilitating spaces to connect with nature, find their voice, and their creativity. We have a workshop offering targeted at schools, youth networks, activists, and organisations looking for well-being and away day activities.
Coming soon
AUDIO DOCUSERIES
We are working with Transmission Roundhouse to bring to life our passion project, an audio series documenting how creativity unfolds in the wilderness we can find near home. From river to coast, from mountain to meadow, join poets as they explore the habitats we can find within our wild Isles.
WILD THING PAMPHLET
Wild Thing Poetry intends to publish pamphlets periodically, bringing together work that has been created in the wild through our events, workshops and outreach.
Contact us
Interested in working together? Fill out some info and we will be in touch shortly. We can’t wait to hear from you!