Groups

29 Sept – Assignment 1 (AS1) set
6 Oct – AS1 Submission
13 Oct – Feedback for AS1, AS2 set
20 Oct – AS2 Submission
27 Oct – Feedback for AS2, AS3 set
3 Nov – AS3 Submission
10 Nov – Feedback for AS3, AS4 set
17 Nov – AS4 Submission
24 Nov – Feedback for AS4, AS5 set
1 Dec – AS5 Submission
8 Dec – Feedback for AS5, Course End

ZOOM 6.45pm-8.45pm (BST/GMT)
7 Oct
14 Oct
28 Oct
4 Nov
11 Nov
18 Nov
25 Nov
2 Dec
9 Dec
16 Dec

9 Oct – Assignment 1 (AS1) set
16 Oct – AS1 Submission
23 Oct – Feedback for AS1, AS2 set
30 Oct – AS2 Submission
6 Nov – Feedback for AS2, AS3 set
13 Nov – AS3 Submission
20 Nov – Feedback for AS3, AS4 set
27 Nov – AS4 Submission
4 Dec – Feedback for AS4, AS5 set
10 Dec – AS5 Submission
18 Dec – Feedback for AS5, Course End

This is a space for you to upload your poems, ahead of the workshop sessions. Class schedule:

8 Oct
15 Oct
22 Oct
29 Oct
5 Nov
12 Nov
19 Nov
26 Nov
3 Dec
10 Dec

ZOOM 6.45pm-8.45pm (BST/GMT)
6 Oct
13 Oct
20 Oct
27 Oct
3 Nov
10 Nov
17 Nov
24 Nov
1 Dec
8 Dec

ZOOM 2pm-4pm (BST/GMT)
6 Oct
13 Oct
20 Oct
27 Oct
3 Nov
10 Nov
17 Nov
24 Nov
1 Dec
8 Dec

Peer into the world of science and scientists to gather inspiration for new poems

13 Oct –  Assignment 1 (AS1) set
20 Oct – AS1 Submission & AS2 set
27 Oct – Feedback for AS1, AS2 Submission & AS3 set
3 Nov – Feedback for AS2, AS3 Submission & AS4 set
10 Nov – Feedback for AS3, AS4 Submission
17 Nov – Feedback for AS4, Course end

According to Jean Cocteau, ‘The poet is a liar who always speaks the truth.’ This course considers the various ways in which poems manipulate the truth in order to tell it. Drawing on a range of contemporary examples, we’ll look closely at how poets use invention, suggestion, embellishment and surprise to get the effects they’re after, and you’ll be investigating some of these tactics in your own writing. We’ll also consider what poems conceal and the power of silence – what happens in the crucial white space, and how does the poem’s relationship with form affect the way we read it? There’ll be regular writing exercises and you’ll be encouraged to think about your own decisions, particularly when reworking and editing your poems.

Three lines, syllable counting, nature, Zen. Now, we’ve got those crusty preconceptions and outdated rules out of the way we can take a fresh look at English language haiku in the light of contemporary Western practice. On this intensive 3 week writing course we will re-visit the most misunderstood of all the poetic forms – the haiku – looking at work by experienced practitioners in the UK and USA. We will then practice some techniques that contribute towards making the ordinary extraordinary, writing our own small epiphanies, tiny elegies and snapshots from our daily lives that are charged with clarity, emotion and humour. We will also be setting both our pens and as well as our bodies in motion, as we follow in the footsteps of Basho and compose our haiku while walking, taking advantage of the dramatic changes of the autumn season.

Manipulate new meanings with cutting, folding, and chance encounters

22 Jan – Course start & Assignment 1 set
29 Jan – Assignment 1 Deadline
05 Feb – Feedback 1 & Assignment 2 set
12 Feb – Assignment 2 Deadline
19 Feb – Feedback 2 & Assignment 3 set
26 Feb – Assignment 3 Deadline
05 Mar – Feedback 3 & Assignment 4 set
12 Mar – Assignment 4 Deadline
19 Mar – Feedback 4 & Assignment 5 set
26 Mar – Assignment 5 Deadline
02 Apr – Feedback 5 & Course End

6 Oct – Assignment 1 (AS1) set
13 Oct – AS1 Submission, AS2 Set
20 Oct – Feedback for AS1, AS2 Submission, AS3 Set
27 Oct – Feedback for AS2
3 Nov – AS3 Submission
5 Nov – Feedback for AS3, Course End

15 May – Course start & Assignment 1 set
22 May – Assignment 1 deadline
29 May – Feedback 1 & Assignment 2 set
5 Jun – Assignment 2 deadline
12 Jun – Feedback 2 & Assignment 3 set
19 Jun – Assignment 3 deadline
26 Jun – Feedback 3 & Assignment 4 set
3 Jul – Assignment 4 deadline
10 Jul – Feedback 4 & Assignment 5 set
17 Jul – Assignment 5 deadline
24 Jul – Feedback 5 & course end

WEDNESDAYS 6.45pm-8.45pm (GMT)
21 Jan
28 Jan
4 Feb
11 Feb
18 Feb
25 Feb
4 Mar
11 Mar
18 Mar
25 Mar

This is a space for peer-to-peer feedback where you can share the poems that you’ve written from the course.

Interesting poetical tidbits from across the web.

A audio-visual poetry place for filmpoems, vlogs, video performances, solo recordings, radio documentaries, and more.

2 Oct
9 Oct
16 Oct
23 Oct
30 Oct
6 Nov
13 Nov
20 Nov
27 Nov
4 Dec

The natural world has long been a site of fascination and wonder for poets. But how do we write our surroundings now – whether urban or rural – at a time when the human impact on the environment is at its most acute? Taking poetry that responds to the complexities of its surroundings from around the world as inspiration and example, we will read a range of poets including A R Ammons, Liz Berry, Tom Chivers, Lucille Clifton, David Constantine, Camille Dungy, John Kinsella, W S Merwin, Pablo Neruda, Pascale Petit and Gary Snyder. Through close readings and a range of practical exercises, this course will explore how we might approach the pressing global complexities of the 21st century to create poems that are fresh, engaging and politically alert.