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Start writing poetry, today

Join us in reading, writing, editing and translating poetry, in year-long courses, short courses, workshops, one-day sessions, seminars, tutorials and every variety of learning in between – in our classrooms, off site and online.

For more information and FAQs about how our courses work, please go to our In-Person Courses, Video Courses and Online Courses pages.

All our Courses

Poems Behaving Badly: The Joy of Being Wrong on Purpose

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Tutor: Vik Shirley

Poems Behaving Badly: The Joy of Being Wrong on Purpose

Get into seriously playful poetic forms at the experimental edge.

Start Date: May 5, 2025
End Date: July 14, 2025 ( 71 Days )
Type: Online

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Tutor: Agnieszka Studzinska

Mayonnaise & the Sublime Masterclass

Locating the liminal in conceptual emulsion – poetics at the unfathomable edge.

Start Date: May 5, 2025
End Date: July 27, 2025 ( 84 Days )
Type: Online

£95.00 *

Tutor: Penny Boxall

Fortnightly Feedback with Penny Boxall

Knock loose poems into shape with some concentrated feedback from poet, teacher, and children's writer, Penny Boxall.

Start Date: May 5, 2025
End Date: July 7, 2025 ( 64 Days )
Type: Online

Poetry, Poetics, and the Lyric Essay Masterclass

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Tutor: James Byrne

Poetry, Poetics, and the Lyric Essay Masterclass

Get innovative with lyrical essays, poethics, and manifesti.

Start Date: May 6, 2025
End Date: July 28, 2025 ( 84 Days )
Type: Online

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Tutor: Leah Umansky

Poems After Poems: Writing Ars Poetica

Writing in response; capturing the life of poetry, in poetry.

Start Date: May 7, 2025
End Date: July 16, 2025 ( 71 Days )
Type: Online

Learning from the Female Poets: Influence & Inspiration

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Tutor: Clare Pollard

Learning from the Female Poets: Influence & Inspiration

Join the great poetic conversation and think about how to steal, allude, translate, remix, modernise, and answer back.

Start Date: May 8, 2025
End Date: July 17, 2025 ( 71 Days )
Type: Online

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Tutor: Dr Fran Lock

Somatics: Writing & Ritual Masterclass

Crafting connection – poetic body meets world.

Start Date: May 8, 2025
End Date: July 30, 2025 ( 84 Days )
Type: Online

Freedom in Form: Creativity, Control, & Craft with Jacqueline Saphra

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Tutor: Jacqueline Saphra

Freedom in Form: Creativity, Control, & Craft with Jacqueline Saphra

Mix up your writing and learn new skills and techniques with Jacqueline Saphra.

Start Date: May 12, 2025
End Date: July 14, 2025 ( 64 Days )
Type: Video

Introduction to Visual Poetry: Poetics of the Possible

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Tutor: Astra Papachristodoulou

Introduction to Visual Poetry: Poetics of the Possible

Explore the possibilities of visual poetry by engaging with the work of some of the most exciting visual poets of all time.

Start Date: May 12, 2025
End Date: July 21, 2025 ( 71 Days )
Type: Online

Transitions, Translations, Transformations, Transreading

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Tutor: Carmen Bugan

Transitions, Translations, Transformations, Transreading

Kinetic poetics, shifts and what they might reveal.

Start Date: May 12, 2025
End Date: July 21, 2025 ( 71 Days )
Type: Online

Poetry at the Next Level: An Advanced Workshop with Wayne Holloway-Smith

£220.00 *

Tutor: Wayne Holloway-Smith

Poetry at the Next Level: An Advanced Workshop with Wayne Holloway-Smith

Challenge yourself, elevate your writing, and take the next steps in your poetry career

Start Date: May 12, 2025 6.45pm
End Date: July 14, 2025 ( 64 Days )
Type: Video

Digging Deeper with the Golden Shovel Studio

£95.00 *

Tutor: Catherine Smith

Digging Deeper with the Golden Shovel Studio

A new tool for a very fresh form – get to grips with the golden shovel!

Start Date: May 12, 2025
End Date: June 9, 2025 ( 29 Days )
Type: Online

The Close Read: Advanced Poetry Workshop with Anthony Anaxagorou

£220.00 *

Tutor: Anthony Anaxagorou

The Close Read: Advanced Poetry Workshop with Anthony Anaxagorou

Develop your writing through discussion and feedback in this advanced workshop with Anthony Anaxagorou.

Start Date: May 12, 2025 2-4pm
End Date: July 14, 2025 ( 64 Days )
Type: Video

The Poetics of Latin American Resistance: “Yo Vengo a Ofrecer Mi Poema / I Come to Offer My Poem”

£130.00 *

Tutor: Rebecca Levi

The Poetics of Latin American Resistance: “Yo Vengo a Ofrecer Mi Poema / I Come to Offer My Poem”

Current Latin American poetry – an invitation to resistance.

Start Date: May 13, 2025
End Date: July 22, 2025 ( 71 Days )
Type: Online

Interdisciplinary & Translingual Explorations with Astrid Alben

£220.00 *

Tutor: Astrid Alben

Interdisciplinary & Translingual Explorations with Astrid Alben

An exciting, advanced poetry workshop with the innovative Astrid Alben.

Start Date: May 13, 2025
End Date: July 15, 2025 ( 64 Days )
Type: Video

New Territories: An Intermediate-Advanced Workshop with Wayne Holloway-Smith

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Tutor: Wayne Holloway-Smith

New Territories: An Intermediate-Advanced Workshop with Wayne Holloway-Smith

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

Start Date: May 13, 2025 6.45pm
End Date: July 15, 2025 ( 64 Days )
Type: Video

Flowers of Evil: Transreading the French Romantic Poets

£130.00 *

Tutor: Rosemarie Corlett

Flowers of Evil: Transreading the French Romantic Poets

French Poetry in the time of Revolt.

Start Date: May 14, 2025
End Date: July 23, 2025 ( 71 Days )
Type: Online

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Tutor: Tim Dooley

Wednesday Workshop with Tim Dooley

Our long-running weekly workshop with Tim Dooley, for poets looking to develop their individual voice and technique.

Start Date: May 14, 2025
End Date: July 16, 2025 ( 64 Days )
Type: Video

Advanced Poetry Workshop with Mark Waldron

£220.00 *

Tutor: Mark Waldron

Advanced Poetry Workshop with Mark Waldron

An advanced weekly workshop group with the inimitable Mark Waldron.

Start Date: May 14, 2025
End Date: July 16, 2025 ( 64 Days )
Type: Video

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Tutor: Becky Varley-Winter

Poetic Forms for Beginners

Spark your creativity and take your first steps into the world of poetry!

Start Date: May 14, 2025
End Date: July 9, 2025 ( 57 Days )
Type: Video

‘Dear Soul’: Poems from Someone, to Someone

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Tutor: Jonathan Edwards

‘Dear Soul’: Poems from Someone, to Someone

‘Talking to me?!’ Unravelling speakers, readers, poets, and their addressees.

Start Date: May 15, 2025
End Date: July 24, 2025 ( 71 Days )
Type: Online

Lighting the World: Writing in Times of Crisis

£220.00 *

Tutor: Shazea Quraishi

Lighting the World: Writing in Times of Crisis

How can we write poetry through times of ecological emergency, perpetual war, or personal crises?

Start Date: May 15, 2025
End Date: July 17, 2025 ( 64 Days )
Type: Video

Friday Workshop with Natasha Hakimi Zapata

£220.00 *

Tutor: Natasha Hakimi Zapata

Friday Workshop with Natasha Hakimi Zapata

A weekly workshop for developing poets looking to improve their writing through feedback and close reading.

Start Date: May 16, 2025
End Date: July 18, 2025 ( 64 Days )
Type: Video

Clarity & Vision: Advanced Poetry Workshop with Richard Price

£220.00 *

Tutor: Richard Price

Clarity & Vision: Advanced Poetry Workshop with Richard Price

Join this group for close discussion of your writing with acclaimed poet, Richard Price.

Start Date: May 16, 2025
End Date: July 18, 2025 ( 64 Days )
Type: Video

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Tutor: Becky Varley-Winter

Beginners’ Workshop Group

Join a supportive community for close reading and developmental feedback on your new poems!

Start Date: May 21, 2025
End Date: July 16, 2025 ( 57 Days )
Type: Video

Rachel Long’s Advanced Weekly Workshop with Special Guests

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Tutor: Rachel Long

Rachel Long’s Advanced Weekly Workshop with Special Guests

An exciting advanced workshop group with the much-loved Rachel Long and the benefit of special guest tutors each term.

Start Date: May 21, 2025
End Date: July 23, 2025 ( 64 Days )
Type: Video

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Tutor: Kathryn Simmonds

Saturday Sessions with Kathryn Simmonds

Monthly all-day Saturday workshops with Kathryn Simmonds.

Start Date: May 24, 2025 11am–5pm
End Date: July 19, 2025 ( 57 Days )
Type: In-person • Location:

Queer Objects: Sidling Up to the Subconscious

£95.00 *

Tutor: Kat Dixon

Queer Objects: Sidling Up to the Subconscious

Peek at queerness out the corner of your eye and learn to write into your subconscious.

Start Date: June 3, 2025
End Date: June 17, 2025 ( 15 Days )
Type: Video

Around the Table: Writing about Food & Family

£130.00 *

Tutor: romalyn ante

Around the Table: Writing about Food & Family

Explore the poetic connections between food, family, love, and legacy.

Start Date: June 5, 2025
End Date: July 3, 2025 ( 29 Days )
Type: Video

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Tutor: Ellene Glenn Moore

The Poetics of Delight Studio

Writing the Pleasure of Observation, Commentary, and Awe.

Start Date: June 9, 2025
End Date: July 7, 2025 ( 29 Days )
Type: Online

Nothing to Write About? Breaking Writer's Block

£55.00 *

Tutor: Yanita Georgieva

Nothing to Write About? Breaking Writer's Block

Unsticking a stuck poet.

Start Date: June 14, 2025 10.30am
End Date: June 14, 2025 ( 1 Day )
Type: In-person • Location: The Bindery, London

Fourteen Lines, Myriad Methods: Experimental Sonnet Studio

£95.00 *

Tutor: James Davies

Fourteen Lines, Myriad Methods: Experimental Sonnet Studio

‘Doesn’t sound like no sonnet, my lord’

Start Date: June 19, 2025
End Date: July 17, 2025 ( 29 Days )
Type: Online

Sensorial Witnessing: An Exploration of Voice, Reading, Performance

Tutor: Sophie Seita

Sensorial Witnessing: An Exploration of Voice, Reading, Performance

Explore and experiment with your voice to develop new forms of embodied writing and performance.

Start Date: June 21, 2025 10.30am – 4.30pm
End Date: June 21, 2025 ( 1 Day )
Type: In-person • Location:

From Miniature to Global: Ecological Imaginaries Studio

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Tutor: Rachel Bower

From Miniature to Global: Ecological Imaginaries Studio

Close reading the word and the world.

Start Date: June 23, 2025
End Date: July 21, 2025 ( 29 Days )
Type: Online

Into The Woods: A Poetic Exploration of Stephen Sondheim

£55.00 *

Tutor: A.C. Smith

Into The Woods: A Poetic Exploration of Stephen Sondheim

'Into the woods without delay / But careful not to lose the way.'

Start Date: July 2, 2025 6.30–9pm
End Date: July 2, 2025 ( 1 Day )
Type: Video

Jaws at 50 (‘You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Class’)

£95.00 *

Tutor: Simon Barraclough

Jaws at 50 (‘You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Class’)

Fear and fantasy – exploring the wonder of Spielberg’s Jaws

Start Date: July 5, 2025 10.30am
End Date: July 5, 2025 ( 1 Day )
Type: In-person • Location:

£55.00 *

Tutor: Kaz Reeves

Voiced Up! Finding Your Poetic Voice

Challenge and choice in developing your voice.

Start Date: July 10, 2025 6.30-9pm
End Date: July 10, 2025 ( 1 Day )
Type: Video

Show 31 More

How it works

The Poetry School’s teaching year runs over three ‘terms’ – Autumn, Spring and Summer. Each term we offer around 40-50 courses and workshops that cater to a variety of levels, varying in length and subject matter. The course programme changes every term with more new courses, workshops and tutors, but often includes courses that run over three terms and popular repeats.

We offer both ‘classroom’ teaching (UK) and ‘virtual’ teaching (international). You can visit our In-Person Courses, Video Courses and Online Courses pages for more detailed information about course structures, process and what to expect.

Finding the right Course

Most of our courses and workshops accommodate writers with a wide range of experience, but some are specifically designed for beginners or more practicised poets.

Here are our definitions:

Beginner – Learning the ropes: beginning to write poetry.
Intermediate – Starting to develop your voice, generate more work and grow confident on the page.
Advanced – Able to confidently edit, hone, discuss and critique your poetry.

Our programme is developed around these three teaching levels, although we also offer many courses that are Open to all – courses aimed at all levels, often focusing on a specific theme or inspirational subject matter.

FAQ

How many courses can I take?

To ensure the best experience, we recommend taking no more than two courses per term. If you are interested in signing up to more, please email us at [email protected] to discuss the different course schedules.

What is poetry?

There is no one answer, and many, many people have their own ideas. Here are some definitions we like:

‘Literary work in which the expression of feelings and ideas is given intensity by the use of distinctive style and rhythm’ – OED

‘Poetry is a heightened imagistic use of language that does things to the heart and head’ – Grace Nichols

‘A made thing, a verbal construct, an event in language’ – Edward Hirsch

‘Poetry is memorable speech’ – W H Auden

‘Poetry does not explain life. It gives life to feeling and seeing’ – Sarah Stetie

‘Why, Sir, it is much easier to say what it is not’ – Samuel Johnson

I’m already publishing and performing poetry – what can you do to help me?

We have an expanding programme of projects and activities which seek to address the continuing professional development needs of practising poets, from residencies to enhanced publishing, editing and performance opportunities and beyond. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest details.

Will the Poetry School help me become a poet?

Since 1997, when the Poetry School was founded, our students have gone on to publish in magazines and online; they've produced pamphlets and books as poets and editors with publishers from the smallest independents to the largest commercial houses; they've won multiple prizes and awards; they've become poetry tutors themselves; they've moved on to take poetry MAs and PhDs.; they’ve set up performance nights, magazines, shows and events. While we can't guarantee that all students will go on to get published; serious engagement with the art and craft of poetry in the company of tutors and fellow students who are as passionate about the form as you are can only ever improve your chances of getting your work out to a wider audience.

Join us in reading, writing, editing and translating poetry, in year-long courses, short courses, workshops, one-day sessions, seminars, tutorials and every variety of learning in between – in our classrooms, off site and online.

All our Courses

Find a Course

How it works

Finding the right Course

FAQ

How many courses can I take?

What is poetry?

I’m already publishing and performing poetry – what can you do to help me?

Will the Poetry School help me become a poet?