Poetry makes its return to classrooms with Samara O’Gorman

Earlier this month, Samara O’Gorman returned to Dunrae Gardens to conduct poetry workshops after previously presenting “Leading with your heart 2,0” there on Pink Shirt Day 2025. She reunited with the students who fondly remembered her visit last year.

The workshop began with a brief introduction about O’Gorman’s journey as an author. Her latest poetry collection July's Return served as the inspirational foundation for the session. She read the book to the students and then guided the class through a step-by-step process on how to write a poem inspired by their favourite month of the year.

O’Gorman’s speaking tour inspired July's Return. When the book was first published in July 2024, Samara promised that a portion of the book’s profits would fund workshops for children's literature and poetry education. Those profits were directly invested into creating poetry booklets, which were given to nearly 100 students at Dunrae Gardens last week. After the workshop, students took these booklets home as keepsakes.

To reflect the themes of O’Gorman’s collection, students paired their poems with drawings and by the end of the workshop, the class had developed their very own poetry collection, and the students had the opportunity to take turns reciting their poems in front of the class. Some poems were funny, some were sentimental, and others were quite advanced. O’Gorman was stunned by the potential that some students held in the art of poetry. A group of students even decided to create raps instead of traditional poems, which she assured them was also a valid form of poetry since it also involves rhythm and rhyme.

The main goal of the workshop was to nurture creative writing skills and foster a deeper appreciation for the power of self-expression through poetry. For more information or to book Samara O’Gorman for your school, contact info@inspirationsnews.com 

July’s Return is a pocket-sized anthology of original poems inspired by the 12 months of the year. Each poem is accompanied by an original watercolour painting by O’Gorman. It is now available at local bookstores or on www.samaraogorman.com.