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Face-to-Face Courses

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Face-to-face teaching has been at the core of our educational programme since 1997. Running three terms a year both in our London classrooms and regional centres across the UK, our face-to-face courses and workshops have helped countless poets find encouragement for their work and allowed their poetry to flourish.

On our face-to-face courses, a group of students meet on a regular basis with their tutor to read their own work, discuss poetry, and – session by session – develop new skills and confidence as poet. We offer a breadth of approach to learning poetry, with some courses focusing on form and technique, whilst others look to provide inspiration for generating new writing or offer close readings of certain poets or movements.

The longest courses we offer stretch over three terms (general, covering a wide variety of skills and subjects) and the shortest courses we offer are one-day workshops (specific, looking at specialist subjects and techniques).

All our Face-to-Face Courses

Intermediate Poetry Workshop with Tim Dooley (Summer 2021)

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Tutor: Tim Dooley

Intermediate Poetry Workshop with Tim Dooley (Summer 2021)

Tim Dooley’s weekly workshop for poets looking to develop their individual voice and technique.

Start Date: May 5, 2021 2.00pm
End Date: July 14, 2021 ( 71 Days )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

Sold Out!

Advanced Poetry Workshop with Mark Waldron (Summer 2021)

Develop your writing through discussion and feedback in this advanced course with Mark Waldron.

Start Date: May 5, 2021 6.45pm
End Date: July 7, 2021 ( 64 Days )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

Sold Out!

Tutor: Meryl Pugh

First Encounters (Summer 2021)

Take your first steps into the world of poetry!

Start Date: May 6, 2021 6.45pm
End Date: July 8, 2021 ( 64 Days )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

Advanced Poetry Workshop with Richard Price (Summer 2021)

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Tutor: Richard Price

Advanced Poetry Workshop with Richard Price (Summer 2021)

Develop your writing through discussion and feedback in this advanced workshop with Richard Price.

Start Date: May 7, 2021 11.00am
End Date: July 16, 2021 ( 71 Days )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

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Tutor: Richard Scott and James Womack

Overenthusiastic Translation

Break down and build up again: look at the work of non-English poets from the past and uncover the clues they can offer your own practice.

Start Date: May 8, 2021 10.30am
End Date: May 22, 2021 ( 15 Days )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

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Tutor: Liz Berry

Poetry Surgery with Liz Berry

In-depth 1-2-1 discussion on your poetry with Liz Berry.

Start Date: May 8, 2021 10.30am
End Date: May 8, 2021 ( 1 Day )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

Saturday Sessions with Ros Barber (Summer 2021)

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Tutor: Ros Barber

Saturday Sessions with Ros Barber (Summer 2021)

Monthly all-day Saturday workshops with Ros Barber.

Start Date: May 8, 2021 10.30am
End Date: July 3, 2021 ( 57 Days )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

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Tutor: Wayne Holloway-Smith

What Now? (Advanced, Summer 2021)

Take the next steps in your poetry career and explore contemporary poetry’s cutting-edge.

Start Date: May 10, 2021 6.45pm
End Date: July 19, 2021 ( 71 Days )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

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Tutor: Wayne Holloway-Smith

What Now? (Intermediate, Summer 2021)

Bring your poetry to the next level and explore contemporary poetry’s cutting-edge.

Start Date: May 11, 2021 6.45pm
End Date: July 13, 2021 ( 64 Days )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

Sold Out!

Tutor: Rebecca Levi

Poetry that Travels

After a year spent in one place, join us for some poetic travel!

Start Date: May 13, 2021 7.00pm
End Date: July 8, 2021 ( 57 Days )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

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Tutor: Becky Varley-Winter

Soundscapes

Explore poetry as a musical instrument, to develop your skills with rhythm and musicality.

Start Date: May 20, 2021 7.00pm
End Date: July 15, 2021 ( 57 Days )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

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Tutor: Kathryn Simmonds

Let There be Poems!

Consider how one might write poems of faith in this more secular age.

Start Date: June 5, 2021 10.30am
End Date: June 12, 2021 ( 8 Days )
Type: Face-to-Face

Caledonia Dreamin': Exploring Scotland's Poetry

£75.00 *

Tutor: Richard Price

Caledonia Dreamin': Exploring Scotland's Poetry

Take a tour of Scottish poetry with expert guide, Richard Price.

Start Date: June 12, 2021 10.30am
End Date: July 3, 2021 ( 22 Days )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

‘I Know That is Poetry’: A Reading & Writing Workshop

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Tutor: Eve Grubin

‘I Know That is Poetry’: A Reading & Writing Workshop

Explore the work of Emily Dickinson for inspiration in your own writing.

Start Date: June 16, 2021 6.30pm
End Date: June 30, 2021 ( 15 Days )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

'The Owls Are Not What They Seem’: Writing Poems Inspired by Twin Peaks

£75.00 *

Tutor: Chrissy Williams

'The Owls Are Not What They Seem’: Writing Poems Inspired by Twin Peaks

Across the room, a giant waves his arms in slow-motion as the music fades – poetry is happening again.

Start Date: June 19, 2021 10.30am
End Date: June 19, 2021 ( 1 Day )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

A House of Many Rooms: The Sonnet Sequence

£150.00 *

Tutor: Jacqueline Saphra

A House of Many Rooms: The Sonnet Sequence

Find your ‘big idea’ and get to work on a propulsive new sonnet sequence with an expert in the field!

Start Date: June 26, 2021 10:30am
End Date: July 10, 2021 ( 15 Days )
Type: Face-to-Face • Location: Poetry School, London

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Tutor: Fiona Benson

Poetry Surgery with Fiona Benson

In-depth 1-2-1 discussion on your poetry with Fiona Benson.

Start Date: July 10, 2021 10.30am
End Date: July 10, 2021 ( 1 Day )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

£75.00 *

Tutor: Sarah Westcott and Joe Beale

Looking at Lichens

Join us for an inspiring day of reading, writing, and discussion, alongside some practical exploration of lichens!

Start Date: July 17, 2021 10:30am
End Date: July 17, 2021 ( 1 Day )
Type: Face-to-Face • Location: Poetry School, London

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HOW FACE-TO-FACE WORKS

Tutor and students sit round a large table for a typical Poetry School course session or workshop and the meetings are friendly and relatively informal.

In each session, you might be given Exercises (specific writing tasks to inspire your own poems or ideas) or Feedback (comments on your work by tutors and / or other students); you might be Reading (close attention to published poems, looking for examples of technique, style, theme or form), Writing (working towards creating new poems throughout the duration of the course or workshop) or a combination of all these. Some courses will include tasks for you to complete at home.

Our face to face courses are designed to suit all levels of experience: some activities are open to all, and others are structured with beginner, intermediate or advanced poets specifically in mind. Similarly, our activities aim to offer a breadth of approach to learning poetry, with some focusing on form and technique, whilst others look to provide inspiration for your writing.

WHAT WILL I LEARN?

Content will vary course to course, but on all our face-to-face courses you can expect the following:

reading, writing and thinking about poetry in different ways
exposure to new writers, voices, forms and styles
the confidence to write more and devote more time to writing
generating new work
discovery of new areas and subjects for research
better understanding of how to make choices (length, theme, tone, etc)
enhanced critical skills
practical advice on further development

Many of our teaching poets are also performers, makers and artists, as well as teachers, and like to teach more than just poetry in their classes. One of the great advantages of face-to-face teaching is that is doesn’t always have to happen in a classroom. From time to time, we also like to run workshops where as well as writing poems, you might be going on a walking tour, exploring a priceless archive, painting pictures, eating exotic foods, making theatre props or even swimming in the wild.

We pride ourselves on the standard of our teaching and the poetry produced on every one of our courses. Many of our students have gone on to successfully submit their course work for publication in magazines and journals, and had success in competitions. But don’t take it from us: read some of our many student testimonials.

COURSE FORMATS

Generally speaking we offer 3 main types of face-to-face course:

LONG COURSES are more than 10 weeks and run over several terms. All our long courses start in the Autumn, but can be joined mid-way (subject to availability). Long courses are quite general and will encompass a large variety of ideas and techniques suitable for particular skill levels.

SHORT COURSES are commonly 10 weeks or less, once a term, with regular sessions running weekly or fortnightly. Short courses tend to focus on a particular subject, theme, form or technical aspect of poetry, often open to all levels.

WORKSHOPS are weekend, one or half day sessions. One day workshops are intensive writing and learning experiences that last 5 hours (with an additional 1 hour lunch break).

If you’re unsure which class, level, or style of course might be best for you, you can contact our administration team on [email protected] for help with any course queries you might have.

FAQ

The activity I want is fully booked – what can I do?

Lost property?

Lost property will be kept in the office at 1 Dock Offices, Surrey Quays Road, Canada Water, SE16 2XU. Please call or email us if you believe you have left something in the classrooms.

What should I do if I can’t make a class session?

What is your refunds policy?

If you cannot attend a course a full refund will be made as long as cancellation is received four weeks before the course start date. After this period, we are only able to give you a refund if the course has sold out and we are able to fill your place. Refunds cannot be given if you were unable to attend a course or did not log on to the online chats. Please read our Terms & Conditions for more information.

How do I teach for the Poetry School?

Please send us details of your publication record and teaching experience and the ideas you have for courses and workshops you'd like to teach. If your ideas for the programme are a fit for ours, we will start to make joint plans. Download this 'Teaching for the Poetry School for the First Time' hand out which might be useful.

The Poetry School

Face-to-Face Courses

Write more poems

All our Face-to-Face Courses

Intermediate Poetry Workshop with Tim Dooley (Summer 2021)

Advanced Poetry Workshop with Mark Waldron (Summer 2021)

First Encounters (Summer 2021)

Advanced Poetry Workshop with Richard Price (Summer 2021)

Overenthusiastic Translation

Poetry Surgery with Liz Berry

Saturday Sessions with Ros Barber (Summer 2021)

What Now? (Advanced, Summer 2021)

What Now? (Intermediate, Summer 2021)

Poetry that Travels

Soundscapes

Let There be Poems!

Caledonia Dreamin': Exploring Scotland's Poetry

‘I Know That is Poetry’: A Reading & Writing Workshop

'The Owls Are Not What They Seem’: Writing Poems Inspired by Twin Peaks

A House of Many Rooms: The Sonnet Sequence

Poetry Surgery with Fiona Benson

Looking at Lichens

HOW FACE-TO-FACE WORKS

WHAT WILL I LEARN?

COURSE FORMATS

FAQ

The activity I want is fully booked – what can I do?

Lost property?

What should I do if I can’t make a class session?

What is your refunds policy?

How do I teach for the Poetry School?

Find a Course