Somatics: Writing & Ritual Masterclass
Crafting connection – poetic body meets world.
Somatic is derived from the Greek, meaning the body. Somatic poetry is interested in the body as a site of social, imaginative, and political action. Its focus is not only on our physical processes, but the environments bodies exist within; what it means to write, think and live under ecological and political conditions that have rendered our world variously unfit for habitation.
Somatic poetry seeks to use the body to retune our attention to the world around us, to make – in the words of CAConrad – “a different kind of investment in the everyday.” To generate that retuned attention Conrad advocates for the creation of “rituals” that 1) disrupt/ reinvigorate the act of writing, 2) reconnect the body to the act of writing, and 3) use the body as a bridge between the writer and their wider world.
During this course we will craft our own somatic rituals and explore the poetic body as site of magic, protest and solidarity. We’ll be guided by (amongst others) CAConrad, Thom Donovan, Jillian Weise, Polly Atkin, Nisha Ramayya, Daniel Sluman, and Khairani Barokka.
Masterclasses are an expanded version of our International Courses, with a much deeper consideration of technical craft and critical theory. These 12-week courses (maximum 12 places) are for advanced students only, and fluency with poetic language and ideas will be assumed. There are no live chats and they are suitable for UK and International students.
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.
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About Dr Fran Lock 
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"The Poetry School has been transformative for me over the past six years."
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