The Poetic Engine: Working With, Through, & Against Form

Writing form-forward work by looking at formally inventive work old and new.

In this course we will dive into poetic form. We will explore how (and when) it works, how to work with (or against) it, and even how to invent our own. The emphasis will be

on the intentional, and the new. We’ll look at how contemporary poets such as Anthony Joseph, Mimi Khalvati and Sharon Olds participate in older forms such as the sonnet, ghazal and ode, flexing them in new directions, in new languages and for new purposes.

We’ll think about metre and music, as well as how forms go in and out of fashion. We’ll look at forms adjacent to other artforms, such as visual poetry, zuihitsu and erasure, exploring work by CAConrad, Karen McCarthy Woolf and Tom Phillips. We’ll also explore the explosion of new forms being invented to meet the current moment, from the duplex to the coupling, the germination to the cascade, and be inspired by innovative poets such as Layli Long Soldier, Richard Scott, and Natalie Linh Bolderston.

This course is open to all – come with a curious mind and a willingness to geek out over technique!

5 fortnightly sessions over 10 weeks, starting 9 October 2026. No live chats. Suitable for UK & 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.

Image credit: @ciprian

About Erica Hesketh View Profile

Erica Hesketh is a poet and editor, originally from Japan and Denmark. She is the author of In the Lily Room (Nine Arches Press) and To an Unknown Receiver: Sonnets & Cascades (Guillemot Press), and co-author with Laura Sampson of Moon, Snow, Blossom: Wintry Folk Tales from Across Japan (Elliott & Thompson). Her poetry has been commissioned by the Royal Festival Hall, Spread the Word, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and Exeter University. Widely published in magazines and journals, she placed second in the 2022 Winchester Poetry Prize and was commended in the 2023 Magma Poetry Competition, the 2023 Stanza Competition and the 2025 Forward Prizes. She was shortlisted for the 2025 Free Verse Prize, and longlisted in the 2023 National Poetry Competition. From 2016 to 2024 she was director of the Poetry Translation Centre; she is currently artistic director of Winchester Poetry Festival.

"Erica obviously put a great deal of thought into the preparation and was highly knowledgable - an intimate and thoroughly enjoyable course."

- Student Feedback on Erica Hesketh's Spring 2025 course

The Poetry School