ObjectivesThe course aims to increase awareness of the formal aspects of poetry; create opportunities to practise independent, creative poetry writing which shows diversity of structure and form; develop informed, critical models of your own and others’ poetry; develop higher level skills in drafting and editing poems; encourage wide and critical reading of poetry.
Course descriptionThis course has a particular focus on poetic forms. It will increase your understanding and enjoyment of good poetry, old and new, help you discover new ways of looking at poems and help you to write better poems yourself. You will have considerable flexibility in choosing the style and content of your assignments. We advise taking Writing 1: Starting to Write before embarking on this course, but direct entry is possible for more experienced writers.
- The sonnet
- Terza rima, villanelles and terzanelle
- Sestina, pantoum and rondeau
- Ballads, ballades and odes
- Blank verse, syllabics and free verse
- Poetic techniques and traditions.
Postal tuition
You are allocated a tutor and receive their details in your course pack. You work from the course materials and send regular assignments to your tutor. These are returned to you with comment and advice. The course fee includes tutor feedback on your set assignments, but you can purchase feedback and comment on additional pieces of work if you wish.