Fourteen Lines, Myriad Methods: Experimental Sonnet Studio

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

Sonneteering has proved to be the most popular form of poetry over the last 500 years or so. The twentieth and twenty-first century has seen its reinvention time and time again in staggering ways, suggesting there are no end to the possibilities it has to offer.

On this course we will explore the experimental sonnet’s malleability and range, allowing you to explore new angles to whatever subject matter you bring to the table. You’ll find yourself devising your own variations and inventions, adding to the sonnet’s rich tradition. Using some key experimental sonnets as building blocks, whilst considering the sonnet’s heritage, you will mash up tradition with purpose.

Getting inspiration from writers such as Beverly Dahlen, Ted Berrigan, Abigail Oborne, Jackson Mac Low, Jen Bervin and Giles Goodland, take the plunge and ‘break the rules’ of this most famous rule-based machine.

Studios are 4-week intensive courses. Reading material will be distributed before the course begins. There are no live chats so they are suitable for both UK & International students.

Concessions & Accessibility

To apply for a concessionary rate, please send relevant documentation showing your eligibility for one of our concessions to [email protected]; conditions of eligibility are detailed here. If you have any questions, wish to be added to the waiting list of a sold-out course, or require any form of adjustment to access our courses, please email [email protected]. For more information visit our Online Courses page.

Image credit: @martenbjork

About James Davies View Profile

James Davies’s writing includes many books of poetry, including stack from Carcanet, an exploration of minimalism and alternative walking practices, and it is like toys but also like video taped in a mall from Pamenar, in which pairs of lines push and pull between bliss and bathos creating a magical fuzziness. He is also the author of prose texts including the Oulipian psychedelic romantic comedy When Two Are In Love or As I Came To Behind Frank’s Transporter (Crater Press), written in collaboration with Philip Terry, and The Wood Pigeons (Dostoevsky Wannabe), a slenderising of a quiet night in for two. He is editor of if p then q and co-ran the legendary The Other Room poetry night. More at www.jamesdaviespoetry.com

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