The Spring 2017 Programme – in two lines or less!

Taking our lead from David Tait and Jennie Osborne this term, we’ve tried to give a concise run-down of our Spring 2017 courses, using just two lines or less!

Short Courses

A Conversation with the Past (Modernisms) with Tim Dooley: Consider how the innovations of modernism influenced the direction of poetry and workshop new poems in the context of this discussion.

Derivatives, Reflection, Homage with Róisín Tierney: Be inspired by, engage with, criticise, and pay homage to the work of other poets.

The Poetry of the Sacred with Karen McCarthy Woolf: How does poetry reach towards a new understanding of the unknown?

Give It To ‘Em Straight with Alex MacDonald: Learn how using plain English can be anything but plain.

Me, Myself and (Not) I with Saradha Soobrayen: Create dramatic monologues and explore empathy in your poems.

One- and two-day workshops

More Wreck with R. A. Villanueva: Don’t pause to finish or edit — your day will be devoted to generative bursts and improvisational drafts.

Pattern Books with Matthew Welton: Use linguistic devices, mathematical ideas, symmetry and number patterns to generate new writing.

Poetry and Visual Art with Tamar Yoseloff: Be inspired by visual art on the gallery tour, then come together a month later to workshop your poems.

Writing on the Skin with Kate Noakes: Explore the words, patterns, images and symbols etched on our skin.

What the River Knows with Sean O’Brien: Love, death, history, politics and the imagination are all contained in the river – dive in!

Online Courses

Online Feedback Course with Kim Moore: Receive detailed feedback on your works in progress from your tutor and fellow students.

Secrets and Lies with Kathryn Simmonds: Sell your readers tall tales in this repeat of Kathryn Simmonds’ popular course.

Word Power: Poetry and Ritual with Kate Potts: Explore ritual and ceremony in poetry and discover new processes of writing.

To Sea in a Sieve: Writing Poems for Children with Rachel Piercey: Learn how to craft poems that will appeal to a younger audience.

A Toad on a Golf Tee: The American Surreal with Jonathan Edwards: Outlandish visions, cartoon physics and dream logic to enliven your poetry.

Poetry and Pattern with Ira Lightman:  Find out what makes a poet a pattern-maker alongside mathemetician and poet Ira Lightman.

Drop the Dead Poet: Making Poetry from the News with Sarah Hesketh: Now more than ever, our poetry should engage with news and global events.

Re-writing the Map with Suzannah Evans: Chart your own poetic landscapes, histories and edgelands in a repeat of this popular course.

Online International Courses

Transreading Central Europe: Post-Brexit Remix with Elżbieta Wójcik-Leese: In the latest instalment of our Transreading series, discover voices from the central countries of our divided continent.

The Melting Poet: Multiculturalism & Cultural Difference with Jennifer Wong: Write poetry that articulates and appreciates cultural differences, and find unity in our different origins and life journeys.

Every Word Counts with David Tait: Learn how to edit, cut and redraft your poems so they’re in the best possible shape.

Studios

Utopia Island Studio with Christie Williamson: Create new work about your own islands – be they tropical or polar; of the mind or rising from a boiling sea.

Folklore Studio with Miriam Nash: Draw on stories, forms and symbols from folklore to draft new poems.

David Lynch Studio with Bobby Parker: Write on Lynchian themes, including dreams, identity, sexuality and the supernatural world of love.

Manchester

Freedom within Constraint with Rachael Allen: Explore how constraint can free your poetry and generate new work.

Brief Encounters with Kim Moore: Look closely at poetic encounters with people, animals, the natural world, the past and the future.

Saturday Sessions with Ann and Peter Sansom: All-day workshop sessions with the Sansoms in Manchester in February, March and April.

Bristol

Poetry Studio with Fiona Hamilton: Fiona’s Poetry Studio returns to Bristol for another term of feedback, writing and inspiration.

Exeter

Tiny Timebombs with Jennie Osborne: A detailed look at short forms, including haiku, tanka, sonnets and the miniature forms rondelet and triolet.

Continuing Three-Term courses

The Construction of the Poem with Julian Stannard, Tamar Yoseloff, Kate Miller, Clare Pollard, Jacqueline Saphra, Kathryn Gray and Hannah Lowe:  Learn and apply formal techniques for constructing poetry with a rotating cast of experienced tutors.

Routes into Poetry with Tamar Yoseloff: A course for beginner and intermediate writers who want structured learning about rhyme, metre, verse forms, lineation and stanzas.

16 Ways of Writing a Poem with Mario Petrucci: An innovative and in-depth masterclass looking at (virtually) every way a poem can come into being.

Fresh Approaches with Ellen Cranitch: New approaches to writing poetry, looking at contemporary and less familiar work to inspire your writing.

Saturday Sessions with Ros Barber: Monthly all-day Saturday workshops with Ros Barber.

Training the Poem with Jacqueline Saphra: For beginner and intermediate poets looking to develop their writing through experimentation, play and close-readings.

Intermediate Poetry Workshop with Roddy Lumsden: A weekly workshop for poets looking to develop their individual voice and technique.

Advanced Poetry Workshop (Wednesdays) with Matthew Caley: An advanced weekly workshop with a focus on editing, alongside a discussion of themes and ideas.

Advanced Poetry Workshop (Mondays) with Matthew Caley: An afternoon timeslot for one of our inspiring workshops for advanced writers.

Advanced Poetry Workshop with Kathryn Maris and Special Guests: One of our flagship advanced workshops, with the benefit of special guests.