Transreading the Pamphlet Form with Guillemot Press
Explore the creative potential of the pamphlet form with expert pamphlet publishers, Guillemot Press.
The poetry pamphlet is one of the most diverse, exciting, and dynamic forms of publication. It is where poets can explore ideas, experiment with forms, and delve into places, objects, artwork. A good pamphlet makes distinct demands of the writer (and of the reader) and this course is designed to help you generate a range of pamphlet concepts.
We will look at what the pamphlet is, what it has been and what it could be, with examples from the Guillemot Press catalogue, and we will begin to make our own. By the end of the course, you will have considered a series of possibilities and will be invited to finish one of them and send this to Guillemot Press for feedback.
At Guillemot Press, we have always had a preference for short sequences – for discrete, pamphlet-sized projects – and have consistently tested the boundaries of what a pamphlet could be, using innovative designs, processes, and materials to create memorable works. Our list of pamphlet-sized projects has included works by Rosmarie Waldrop, Jen Hadfield, Fiona Benson, and David Harsent, as well as new or debuting writers like Flo Reynolds, Karenjit Sandhu, Suzannah V Evans, and Naush Sabah.
The course is designed for those who are interested in the creative potential of the pamphlet as a distinct discipline or form as well as those who are new to poetry and interested in developing their first pamphlet for publication.
5 fortnightly sessions over 10 weeks. No live chats. Suitable for 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: Hector j rivas
About Luke Thompson 
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Luke Thompson is a writer and publisher from Cornwall and the founder of Guillemot Press. Guillemot and their books have won awards for poetry, illustration, design, and publishing, specialising and experimenting in the short form or pamphlet. Luke’s own writing includes the poetry collection Singing About Melon (Shearsman Books, 2020) and pamphlets Robot Squirrel (zimZalla, 2017), Rhinoceros (Broken Sleep, 2020), and the clearing (Atlantic, 2016). He has written a biography of the poet Jack Clemo, entitled Clay Phoenix (Ally, 2016) and has a forthcoming collection of literature from Cornwall, due from Macmillan Classics in 2023. He is currently writing about animals and language in poetry and non-fiction and most recently published A Guillemot Guide to Very Small Press Publishing. Information on some discrete projects, such as Luke’s Phonetic Ouija Board, can be found on his website, www.lukeathompson.com.
"The Poetry School has helped me learn about editing my poetry, a really important skill in becoming a better poet. It has also helped me find a creative community, which living abroad now I really value."
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