Uniting Voices: Surrey Poet Laureateship Launches Hub in Dorking’s Thriving Poetry Community

The Surrey Poet Laureateship celebrates the launch of its newest Poetry Hub at Dorking Library, bringing people together through the power of words in a town already rich in poetic tradition.

A lively gathering at the Dorking Poetry Hub brings together community members and local leaders for an inspiring literary event.

The quiet hum of Dorking Library gave way to a morning of laughter, verse, and heartfelt connection as The Surrey Poet Laureateship officially launched its Dorking Poetry Hub. The event marked a new chapter for a town already known for its vibrant literary community — and brought with it fresh opportunities for collaboration, creativity, and conversation.

The launch welcomed an impressive turnout of local poets, supporters of the arts, and community members from across Mole Valley and beyond. The atmosphere was full of warmth and energy, underscoring how much appetite there is in Dorking for shared creative spaces.

This newest hub is part of The Surrey Poet Laureateship’s growing Poetry Hub initiative — a countywide effort to establish regular, open-access spaces for people to come together and engage with poetry. Dorking now becomes the latest location to join a network that already includes Woking, Staines, Esher, Farnham, Egham, and more.

Dorking Poetry 'Hubbers' gather around the table, deeply focused on their writing tasks.

The opening session was attended by two distinguished civic leaders:

• Cllr Tim Hall, Chair of Surrey County Council

• Cllr Roger Adams, Chair of Mole Valley District Council

Both expressed strong support for the Laureateship’s mission to embed poetry more deeply into the cultural life of Surrey, and praised the energy and vision behind the Dorking launch.

The new hub will be led by two dedicated facilitators:

• Jacky Power (Lead Facilitator)

• Gary Hill (Assistant Facilitator)

Meet our dynamic new facilitators at the Dorking Hub, ready to inspire and engage—welcome Jacky Power and Gary Hill!

Both Jacky and Gary are well-known within local creative circles, and their thoughtful, engaging approach to the first session impressed all in attendance.

Adam Gary, inaugural Surrey Poet Laureate and Founder of the Laureateship, shared his pride in the team and in the warm reception the hub received:

“I couldn’t be prouder or more excited. I know they will both do an amazing job. I was so impressed with how they ran their session today.”

Throughout the morning, the room was filled with rich discussion, personal reflection, and poetic exploration. The session was not just a space to write but a chance to connect, to share stories, and to welcome new voices into a community that already thrives on creativity.

What sets the Dorking Hub apart is its positioning within a town that already has an established and diverse poetry network. Rather than introducing poetry to the town, this new hub aims to complement and collaborate with what already exists—offering a new rhythm, a new voice, and a regular gathering point for local writers and newcomers alike.

The poets from the Dorking Poetry Hub assemble around the table, fully engaged in their creative endeavours.

The Dorking Poetry Hub will now meet every other Monday, 10am to 12pm at Dorking Library, and is open to anyone with a curiosity about poetry—no experience necessary.

This expansion reflects a broader vision behind the Surrey Poet Laureateship: to make poetry accessible, meaningful, and present in everyday spaces. Whether in libraries, care homes, schools, prisons, or open mics, the Laureateship continues to create space for Surrey’s diverse voices to be heard and celebrated.

As the initiative grows, so too does the belief that poetry is not an exclusive art form—it’s a shared language of emotion, memory, identity, and community.

For more information about the Dorking Hub, upcoming sessions, or other poetry hubs across the county, visit www.surreypoetlaureateship.org/hubs or follow the Surrey Poet Laureateship on social media: @surreypoetlaureate

Poetry is alive in Surrey — and in Dorking, it just found a new place to flourish.