WITH two shows from ?Liverpool poet? Brian Patten, a total of five workshops, a day of writers' surgeries, a Night of Poetry with Matt Harvey and Helena Nelson, and an Open Mike session, The Plough Arts Centre will be buzzing with words this weekend. There will be workshops on writing poetry, ?beating the competition? ? making your poem stand out when you submit it for publication or for a competition ? and on reading your poem in public. Aspiring young poets are catered for with ?Food, Glorious Food?, a creative writing workshop for children aged 8-11 years. Is there a half-finished novel in your bottom drawer? Have you written a poem and wonder whether it works? Do you need advice on an article or feedback on a comedy sketch? Writers? surgeries will be held all day on Saturday when Sarah Willans (author, journalist and organiser of the Plough Prize) and Matt Harvey (poet, writer and broadcaster) will be on hand to offer help and suggestions on a one-to-one basis. For details of any of these workshops and the writers? surgeries, please phone The Plough on 01805 624624. A Night of Poetry with Matt Harvey and Helena Nelson and the Plough Prizewinners is on Saturday at 8pm. Matt Harvey has been delighting audiences around the country in cabarets, conferences, colleges and festivals since 1992. He regularly rubs audiences up the right way with verses about religious conversions, medical procedures and classified ads, and stories of imaginary friends, mistaken identity, male bonding and the struggle to give up Buddhism. Scots poet Helena Nelson is a popular performer on both sides of the border. Joint winner of the Jerwood Aldeburgh First Collection Prize 2003, her relish for language is contagious and her poems always accessible, intelligent and often funny. The focal point of the evening will be the award ceremony of the 2004 Plough Prize competition. Most winners will appear in person to read their poems and collect their prizes; the poems of those who cannot be there on the night will be read by Matt and Helena. Box office: 01805 624624.