Tessa FoleyBlog
All of our Blog Posts
Spring 2026 – Quick Course Guide
Our Spring Term is now live! We have a whole host of brilliant tutors and poetry courses ready for you to pick from and, as they tend to sell out really fast, we’ve made this Spring 2026 Quick Course Guide to help guide you to the right course. Online Courses INTERNATIONAL Online courses without Live…
Beth Evans (Poetry School)
How Poets Navigate Plagiarism, Consent, and Authorship
As part of our Poetry Craft series, Sarah Hesketh discusses how poets navigate plagiarism, consent, and authorship. When using real speech in poetry, how do you maintain authenticity without simply reproducing raw material? I suppose I’d immediately like to take issue with that word ‘authenticity’. Poetry that incorporates text that comes from a speech act…
Sarah Hesketh
Who Gets to Write? Class, Work and the Politics of Poetry Today
As part of our Poetry Craft series, Ruth Beddow discusses class, work and the politics of poetry today. Before we talk about whose poetry gets published, promoted or awarded, we need to ask: who gets to write in the first place? A myth of ‘working-class writing’? In recent years, we’ve seen Joelle Taylor (raised in…
Ruth Beddow
How to: Develop Poetic Sensitivity to the Spaces Between
In this series, we interview our tutors about poetry and its place in their world. These interviews will cover creative writing tips, excelling in a poetry workshop, building a literary career, and finding your poetic voice. Here’s Helen Calcutt on how to develop poetic sensitivity to the spaces between. How can poets use the ‘spaces…
Helen Calcutt
How I Did It: Forward Prizes – Michael Mullen on ‘Beithir’
Welcome to our Forward Prizes 2025 ’How I Did It’ series. This year we asked poets shortlisted for the Jerwood Prize for Best First Collection to write about the inspiration behind one of the poems from their chosen collection. Here’s Michael Mullen on what inspired them to write the poem ‘Beithir’ in Goonie. Any writer of Scots –…
Michael Mullen
How I Did It: Forward Prizes – Sarah Ghazal Ali on ‘Magdalene Diptych’
Welcome to our Forward Prizes 2025 ’How I Did It’ series. This year we asked poets shortlisted for the Jerwood Prize for Best First Collection to write about the inspiration behind one of the poems from their chosen collection. Here’s Sarah Ghazal Ali on what inspired her to write the poem ‘Magdalene Diptych’ in Theophanies. Magdalene at a…
Sarah Ghazal Ali
Why Understanding Music Can Improve Your Poetry Writing
As part of our Poetry Craft series, Tristram Fane Saunders discusses why understanding music can improve your poetry writing. In what ways can poetry be considered a form of music? Listen to a poem in a language that you cannot speak, and very often you’ll come away with a strong sense of the emotion behind…
Tristram Fane SaundersPoems
Curated Poems, chosen by The Poetry School Staff.
Jacqueline Saphra
Catherine Smith
Alisa Havrylchenko
Serhii Rybnytskyi
Myroslav Herasymovych
Vitalij Kvitka
Lyuba Yakimchuk
Oleh Shynkarenko
Vyacheslav Huk
Steve Komarnyckyj
Chrissy Williams
vilde b. torset
Ben Rhys Palmer
Rasha Al Duwaisan
Mason Jabbari
Maggie Sawkins
Sarah Westcott
Zahra
Jasmine Chatfield
Anna Selby
Charlotte Baldwin
Amelia Loulli
Connecting with Care through Poetry
In this series, we interview our tutors about poetry and its place in their world. These interviews will cover creative writing tips, excelling in a poetry workshop, building a literary career, and finding your poetic voice. Here’s Suzannah V. Evans on how to connect with care through poetry. Has your experience as a carer, formally…
Suzannah V. Evans
How I Did It: Forward Prizes – Desree on ‘Intruders’
Welcome to our Forward Prizes 2025 ’How I Did It’ series. This year we asked poets shortlisted for the Jerwood Prize for Best First Collection to write about the inspiration behind one of the poems from their chosen collection. Here’s Desree on what inspired her to write the poem ‘Intruders’ in Altar. The Prompt The first version of…
Desree
How to: Captivate with Picture Books
In this series, we interview our tutors about poetry and its place in their world. These interviews will cover creative writing tips, excelling in a poetry workshop, building a literary career, and finding your poetic voice. Here’s Kathryn Simmonds on how to captivate with picture books. Are there key differences between writing for adults and…
Kathryn Simmonds
How I Did It: Forward Prizes – Isabelle Baafi on ‘Piggy’
Welcome to our Forward Prizes 2025 ’How I Did It’ series. This year we asked poets shortlisted for the Jerwood Prize for Best First Collection to write about the inspiration behind one of the poems from their chosen collection. Here’s Isabelle Baafi on what inspired her to write the poem ‘Piggy’ in Chaotic Good. PIGGY From Horror The…
Isabelle Baafi
How I Did It: Forward Prizes – Catherine-Esther Cowie on ‘Mimorian’
Welcome to our Forward Prizes 2025 ’How I Did It’ series. This year we asked poets shortlisted for the Jerwood Prize for Best First Collection to write about the inspiration behind one of the poems from their chosen collection. Here’s Catherine-Esther Cowie on what inspired her to write the poem ‘Mimorian’ in Heirloom. In Another Language ‘Mimorian’ is…
Catherine-Esther Cowie
The Art of Poetic Experimentation: Push Boundaries, Break Forms, Find Freedom
For poets who love to play, innovate, and challenge the limits of form, our experimental poetry courses are an invitation to risk, reimagine, and reinvent. These courses celebrate unpredictability, genre-bending approaches, and wild creative impulses – perfect for those looking to spark something new. Whether you’re working in collage, constraint, visual poetry, or hybrid forms,…
Poetry School
Carol Watts – Laurel Prize: Below the Surface
Welcome to our Below the Surface series for the 2025 Laurel Prize finalists. These pieces shine a light on the creative practice behind these outstanding collections and show how nature and the climate crisis impacted the authors’ processes. Here’s Carol Watts on her collection Mimic Pond. I’ve written poetry as far back as I can remember….
Carol Watts
Katrina Porteous – Laurel Prize: Below the Surface
Welcome to our Below the Surface series for the 2025 Laurel Prize finalists. These pieces shine a light on the creative practice behind these outstanding collections and show how nature and the climate crisis impacted the authors’ processes. Here’s Katrina Porteous on her collection Rhizodont. Networks of Nature Communities and Commissions I did not set out…
Katrina Porteous
Eliza O’Toole – Laurel Prize: Below the Surface
Welcome to our Below the Surface series for the 2025 Laurel Prize finalists. These pieces shine a light on the creative practice behind these outstanding collections and show how nature and the climate crisis impacted the authors’ processes. Here’s Eliza O’Toole on her collection A Cranic of Ordinaries. Writing as the tip of the iceberg How…
Eliza O'Toole
JR Carpenter – Laurel Prize: Below the Surface
Welcome to our Below the Surface series for the 2025 Laurel Prize finalists. These pieces shine a light on the creative practice behind these outstanding collections and show how nature and the climate crisis impacted the authors’ processes. Here’s JR Carpenter on their collection Measures of Weather. How and where do you write? Do you have…
J. R. Carpenter
Judith Beveridge – Laurel Prize: Below the Surface
Welcome to our Below the Surface series for the 2025 Laurel Prize finalists. These pieces shine a light on the creative practice behind these outstanding collections and show how nature and the climate crisis impacted the authors’ processes. Here’s Judith Beveridge on her collection Tintinnabulum. I always write at home in a garage that I have…
Judith Beveridge
Beginners & Emerging Poets
Starting out in poetry? Ready to find your voice, learn the craft, and join a vibrant writing community? These courses offer welcoming, supportive structures designed to help you build confidence, learn foundational skills, and start shaping your poetic identity. Whether you’re new to poetry or returning after a break, these courses will help you grow…
Poetry School
Writing After Rimbaud: How Reading the Greats Can Transform Your Poetry
Stav Poleg discusses how to take inspiration and influence from iconic writers such as Rimbaud and use it to elevate your own poetic craft. What drew you to writing in response to other poets’ work? Do you remember the first time you tried it? I’ve always considered the practice of writing as simultaneously an act…
Stav Poleg
Mastery & Momentum: Advanced Poetry Courses & Masterclasses
For poets ready to refine their craft, challenge their assumptions, and elevate their practice, these courses are rigorous, inspiring spaces to grow. With expert tutors, peer feedback, and a focus on form, innovation, and poetic theory, these courses are designed for serious writers seeking momentum, publication, and creative breakthroughs. Many courses are by application—see below…
Poetry School
Poetry as Practice: Ritual, Care, & Craft
Poetry is more than art—it’s a practice of presence, healing, and deep attention. These courses explore poetry as a lived experience: a ritual, a response to crisis, a means of caring for self and others, and a space to reflect, remember, and restore. Whether you’re navigating grief, exploring care ethics, or weaving poetic ritual into…
Poetry School
Form, Freedom, & Falling Leaves
Master the art of poetry this Autumn 2025. Explore sonnets, structured forms, advanced workshops, and peer feedback in expert-led online courses. Autumn is a season of structure and study. As the days shorten and routines return, it’s the perfect time to deepen your poetic practice. Whether you’re new to form or ready to refine your…
Poetry School
How to: Write About Climate Crisis
In this series, we interview our tutors about poetry and its place in their world. These interviews will cover creative writing tips, excelling in a poetry workshop, building a literary career, and finding your poetic voice. Here’s Elizabeth Torres (Madam Neverstop) on how to write about climate crisis. How do you see poetry’s role in…
Elizabeth Torres (Madam Neverstop)
Beyond Representation: Supporting Global Majority Writers in a Demanding Literary Landscape
As part of our Poetry Craft series, Louisa Adjoa Parker discusses how to support global majority writers in a demanding literary landscape through poetry. What are some craft strategies you use to elevate personal or political content into work that also speaks artistically or universally? I am very much what I describe as an ‘intuitive…
Louisa Adjoa Parker