I am currently Royal Literary Fellow at the University of Exeter, working with BA, MA and PhD students to improve their writing.
Over the past twenty years, I have worked with the Poetry School, the Arvon Foundation, the George Orwell Foundation, The John Betjeman Poetry Prize, the Somerset Literacy Network, Fire River Poets, Story Door and the Arts Council to assist writers across the UK and in Tuscany, The Czech Republic, Poland and South Sudan to find their voices.
I have a particular interest in outreach work, aiming to get children writing and to help them recognise their own voices as unique and valuable. I have also used poetry with dementia sufferers in care homes (for which I received mentoring from John Killick) and with children exposed to severe trauma.
The Poetry Map
In 2018, I created a free online navigable teaching resource (see link above) to help prepare GCSE English students for the Unseen Poem question. Containing over 60 poems and printable worksheets, students can navigate the globe reading poems set at the site of their composition or setting. The map won an honourable mention at the ELO Electronic Literature Awards.
Nationwide Competitions
I have led a number of national competitions for children, including the Somerset Young Poets Competition (2018, 2019, 2022) and We Own It (2025). In addition to my experience as a Creative Writing teacher, I am a trained TEFL teacher and IELTS examiner with an MA in Creative and Life Writing from Goldsmiths University.
To contact me about potential teaching work, drop a dime on me at matt.bryden@gmail.com
Testimonials
Matt is a really special and talented practitioner, I have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending him. Lorna Hosler, Executive Director, Story Door
Matt is a fine communicator who engages audiences and groups quickly and easily. He enables and energises people, whatever their age or background. He is not afraid to explore unusual routes to engage people and it is this precisely that so often generates a successful outcome. People are surprised by him and, in turn, they frequently surprise themselves. Pat Winslow, poet
Matt Bryden Poetry 