Pathways through Poetry: Module 3 [Autumn 2026]

The third module in our Pathways Through Poetry series: 'Forms and the Performance of Forms'. Take the next step on your journey to poetic success!

You can only book this course if you completed Pathways Module 1 in Summer 2026. If you did not attend this workshop last term, please email us at [email protected].

* This course will take place on the video-conferencing platform ZOOM *

What is form in poetry? What are the differences between given forms, invented forms and so-called free verse, which Robert Frost defined as ‘playing tennis with the net down’. Was he right? Is there such a thing as a formless poem?

We’ll collaboratively explore these and other questions in this module, going on to look at the opportunities offered by given forms like the sonnet and villanelle to give rise to the surprising and unexpected in your poetry; rhyme as the ‘goddess of secret and ancient coincidences’, as Rilke said, or metre as a constraint that forces you to distil and sometimes compress your poem.

You’ll have a chance to expand your range and strategies and begin to explore how form and content might align in a poem and how to recognise when your content is asking for a particular form. The term’s workshops will include writing exercises which may feel a little like learning scales and arpeggios before you tackle a piano sonata, or learning life drawing before you get into cubism. And you will very likely make some unexpected creative leaps as you let yourself experiment with the many different vessels into which you can pour your material.

Given forms have inspired many of our greatest contemporary poets as well as those in the past. In this module, expect appearances from luminaries like William Shakespeare, Dante Alighieri, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edna St Vincent Millay, Roddy Lumsden, Danez Smith, Diane Seuss, Mimi Khalvati, Marilyn Hacker, Leo Boix, Hannah Lowe and Kim Addonizio.

10 weekly Zoom sessions on Tuesdays, 6.30–8.30pm (BST), starts 19 May 2026.

Pathways Through Poetry is a new Poetry School programme, aimed at increasing access to the poetry world and to give students a thorough grounding in the craft of writing poetry. The programme runs over 2 years and comprises 6 x termly modules of 10 sessions, each with a different focus and curriculum. Each module is taught by a different tutor, meaning that over the full programme, students will work with 6 different tutors, creating a dynamic and lively learning experience, as well as exposing participants to a wide range of current poetry professionals. The course content was devised in 2025 in consultation with a poetry dream team: Helen Mort, Rachel Long, and Matthew Caley. This is the first Module of the Pathways Through Poetry programme and next modules will be published in subsequent terms.

Concessions & Accessibility

To apply for a concession 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 or wish to be added to the waiting list of a sold-out course, please email [email protected].

What to Expect

Please check the left hand side of this page for information on how this course works in practice, under the heading ‘Course Style‘. If you’re unsure as to what any of the terms there mean, or if this course is a good fit for you, please visit our What to Expect page which includes some further information on how our courses function

About Jacqueline Saphra View Profile

Jacqueline Saphra is a poet, playwright, teacher, and activist. She is the author of nine plays, four chapbooks, and five poetry collections. Her second collection, All My Mad Mothers was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize and her fifth, Velvel’s Violin, a Poetry Book Society recommendation and a Poetry Book of the Month Radio 4 Extra, was out from Nine Arches Press in July 2023. Jacqueline is a founder member of Poets for the Planet. Her sixth collection will be out from Nine Arches Press in summer 2027.

"Jacqueline Saphra has profound knowledge of poetry and excellent facilitating skills making everyone feel at ease."

- Survey Response from Jacqueline Saphra's Spring 2026 course

The Poetry School