Even if you feel that you've established a personal style you're proud of, challenging your own assumptions is one of the most productive and enjoyable ways to progress as a writer. This weekend course is a unique and enjoyable opportunity to add more substance to your style – and learn to prepare your verse for publication at the same time.
With expert tuition in some of poetry's most potent techniques, this course offers a safe, productive environment in which to experiment. Designed for experienced writers, this enlightening weekend provides you with the chance to explore metaphor, image and precise language, through examinations of classic poems and workshops in which you'll apply what you've learned to your own writing.
Renowned tutor Paula Bohince offers individual feedback to help you add new depth and elegance to your verse without sacrificing any of your personal style. While encouraging participants to explore new artistic territories in creating an entirely new work over the weekend, this friendly, enthusiastic course also provides clear professional guidance on how to edit poems for publication, and engage with the literary world. It's a spectacular opportunity to learn how to make your words work harder; to convey more complex stories and emotions to your readers, and provide greater satisfaction for yourself.
This course is for you if...
- You're a keen amateur poet who has taken at least one poetry writing course before
- You're an experienced poet actively seeking publication of individual poems, or working toward a pamphlet or first anthology
PLEASE NOTE: As this course features an extensive discussion and feedback component, attendees will be expected to know how to read, critique and respond to the work of fellow participants.
Course description
This practical weekend course mixes formal tuition with in-depth discussions, feedback and workshops to introduce attendees to key concepts in composing verse, and enable them to incorporate these into their own writing. All attendees will write at least one new poem during the course, and receive written feedback from tutor Paula Bohince. Topics covered over the weekend include:
- How poems create their power – precise language, metaphor, image
- A workshop on how to begin a poem
- Compositional workshop
- In-depth feedback on attendees' work
- Professional overview of how to publish poems, either individually or as a collection
- Techniques for improving recall and retention of key points
- How to select an appropriate reading approach for your purpose
- Written personalised feedback on your work from Paula Bohince
- Extensive Q&A with Paula Bohince
Tutor profile
Paula Bohince is the author of three poetry collections, Swallows and Waves (forthcoming 2016), The Children (2012) and Incident at the Edge of Bayonet Woods (2008). Paula's poems appear widely in the US and UK, including in The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, The TLS, Granta and Poetry Review. Paula received second prize in the 2013 UK National Poetry Competition and will be a participating poet in the 2014 Aldeburgh Poetry Festival in November. Her previous achievements include a Hawthornden Fellowship, the Dartmouth Poet in Residence at The Frost Place, the Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling Scholar, and a Fellowship of the National Endowment for the Arts.
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Details
Dates: Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 November 2014
Times: 10am-4pm. Check-in begins 30 minutes before the start time.
Location: The Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU
Price: £449 (includes VAT, booking fee, lunch and refreshments)
Event capacity: 16
Dress code: There is no dress code for Masterclasses. Please dress however you feel comfortable.
To contact us, click here. Terms and conditions can be found here.
Returns policy
Tickets may be refunded if you contact us at least 14 days before the course start date. Please see our terms and conditions for more information on our refund policy.
