Acts of Telling: Extraordinary Narrators Studio
Oh speaker, my speaker. Varying the narrator – personae with potential.
Definition of narration: ‘the act of telling.’ (Chambers English Dictionary)
Every poem has a narrator; they can be singular, multiple, subjective, objective, involved, or distant. Most poem’s narrators are human, perhaps because writers are human, and so the human perspective is the most readily available.
But innovative writers of poetry and fiction have long delighted in creating and conjuring non-human narrators, who ‘step outside’ the human perspective, gifting the reader surreal, bizarre, and sometimes mythical angles and insights. These poems are often defined as ‘persona poems’ – ‘persona’ being derived from the Latin word for ‘mask’. Poets can think outside the realm of the believable and imagine themselves into the lives of other species, objects, and mythical creatures – and, in so doing, choose narrators who bring a pleasing freedom from the limitations of the human experience.
On this course, we’ll explore poems that deploy ‘extraordinary’ non-human narrators by, among others, Isabelle Baafi, Edwin Morgan, Jo Shapcott, John McCulloch, Terrance Hayes, Les Murray, Benjamin Zepheniah, Ariana Benson, Sylvia Plath, Carol Ann Duffy, Louise Gluck, and Charles Simic. We’ll shuck off our human forms and liberate ourselves to become animals, plants, inanimate objects, mythical figures, and unique creatures. We’ll think about what our narrators want and need to say, how these newly-created narrators can describe their situations, and how they might challenge and confront our readers. We’ll consider voice, subject matter, language and word choice, perspective, mood, and tone. By the end of the course, we’ll have crafted a batch of new poems and conjured several new ‘extraordinary narrators’ with their own stories worth hearing.
Studios are 4-week intensive courses. Reading material will be distributed before the course begins. There are no live chats so they are suitable for both UK & International students.
Concessions & Accessibility
To apply for a concession rate, please send relevant documentation showing your eligibility for one of our concessions to [email protected]. Conditions of eligibility are detailed here. If you have any questions or wish to be added to the waiting list of a sold-out course, please email [email protected].
What to Expect
Please check the left hand side of this page for information on how this course works in practice, under the heading ‘Course Style‘. If you’re unsure as to what any of the terms there mean, or if this course is a good fit for you, please visit our What to Expect page which includes some further information on how our courses function.
Image credit: @Dmitry Demidov
About Catherine Smith 
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Catherine Smith has written of three full poetry collections – The Butcher’s Hands, Lip, and Otherwhere; two pamphlets, The New Bride and The New Cockaigne; a collection of short stories, The Biting Point, and a radio play, Jellybelly, broadcast by BBC Radio 4. Two of her poetry publications were short-listed for Forward Prizes, and in 2004 she was selected as a ‘Next Generation’ poet by the Arts Council/Poetry Book Society and also as one of the top ten new women poets by Mslexia magazine. Her poetry and short fiction have been broadcast on BBC radio, widely anthologised and adapted for Live Literature performances. She tutors for The Poetry School and The Arvon Foundation, and is also a freelance mentor/editor. She is currently working on a new collection of poetry, exploring different types of darkness, and an uncanny novel.
"This was one of the best online courses I have attended due to the very thorough feedback from the tutor, Catherine Smith."
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