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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 Face-to-Face Courses, Online Courses and Downloads pages.

All our Courses

Saturday Sessions with Ros Barber (Spring 2021)

£177.00 *

Tutor: Ros Barber

Saturday Sessions with Ros Barber (Spring 2021)

Monthly all-day Saturday workshops with Ros Barber.

Start Date: January 16, 2021 10.30am
End Date: March 13, 2021 ( 57 Days )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

Body & Illness: The Language of Empathy Studio

Sold Out!

Tutor: Romalyn Ante

Body & Illness: The Language of Empathy Studio

Consider poetic and empathetic responses to human fragility, illness, and mortality.

Start Date: February 1, 2021
End Date: March 1, 2021 ( 29 Days )
Type: Online • Location:

Sold Out!

Tutor: Khairani Barokka

Archives Studio

Rummage through the archives with Khairani Barokka to inspire new historically-minded poems.

Start Date: February 3, 2021
End Date: March 3, 2021 ( 29 Days )
Type: Online

Poetry Surgery with Will Harris (Spring 2021)

Sold Out!

Tutor: Will Harris

Poetry Surgery with Will Harris (Spring 2021)

In-depth 1-2-1 discussion on your poetry with Will Harris.

Start Date: February 5, 2021 10.30am
End Date: February 5, 2021 ( 1 Day )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

Sold Out!

Tutor: Katrina Naomi

Joyful Noise: Poetry & Happiness

2020’s been rough; so, let’s look to the bright side and explore happy poems with Katrina Naomi!

Start Date: February 6, 2021 10.30am
End Date: February 13, 2021 ( 8 Days )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

“There are still secrets to exhume”: Contemporary Gothic Poetry

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Tutor: Nisha Bhakoo

“There are still secrets to exhume”: Contemporary Gothic Poetry

Unearth the uncanny, as we exhume the secrets of contemporary Gothic writing.

Start Date: February 20, 2021 2pm
End Date: February 27, 2021 ( 8 Days )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

Sold Out!

Tutor: Eleanor Penny

Dadaism: Monsters, Machines, & Madness

Trace the long cultural trail of Dada before turning its tools onto contemporary problems.

Start Date: February 20, 2021 2pm
End Date: March 6, 2021 ( 15 Days )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

Whale Song, Bloop, Bubble: Deep Sea Listening as Poetic Practice

Sold Out!

Tutor: Nisha Ramayya

Whale Song, Bloop, Bubble: Deep Sea Listening as Poetic Practice

Bring your ears to the water and take inspiration from the natural, and manmade, sounds of the deep.

Start Date: February 20, 2021 10.30am
End Date: March 6, 2021 ( 15 Days )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

Sold Out!

Tutor: Hannah Lowe

"Happy Those Early Days!': Writing the Child Self

Move beyond simple nostalgia to explore childhood, and writing the ‘child self’, on its own terms.

Start Date: February 27, 2021 10:30am
End Date: March 14, 2021 ( 16 Days )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

Sold Out!

Tutor: James Davies

Super Sestina Studio

Learn the skills, tricks, and turns needed to truly master the sestina!

Start Date: March 1, 2021
End Date: March 29, 2021 ( 29 Days )
Type: Online

Poetry Surgery with Timothy Donnelly (Spring 2021)

Sold Out!

Tutor: Timothy Donnelly

Poetry Surgery with Timothy Donnelly (Spring 2021)

In-depth 1-2-1 discussion on your poetry with Timothy Donnelly.

Start Date: March 12, 2021 2.30pm
End Date: March 12, 2021 ( 1 Day )
Type: Face-to-Face, Online

Poetry & Syntax: An Emergency Toothpick in an Imaginary Landscape

Sold Out!

Tutor: Astrid Alben

Poetry & Syntax: An Emergency Toothpick in an Imaginary Landscape

Learn to outwit, cajole, and break free from syntax to transcend poetic writing and produce true works of art.

Start Date: March 13, 2021 10:30am
End Date: March 27, 2021 ( 15 Days )
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: March 14, 2021 10:30am
End Date: March 28, 2021 ( 15 Days )
Type: Face-to-Face • Location: Poetry School, London

Sold Out!

Tutor: Ed Luker & Holly Pester

Dreaming Non Sensing

A collaborative dreaming and writing un-workshop.

Start Date: March 20, 2021 10.30am
End Date: March 27, 2021 ( 8 Days )
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 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 Face-to-Face 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

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

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?