Does the word “poem” fill you both with excitement and trepidation as you wonder if you are, if you might be, if you’re allowed to…? Join Tania Hershman on the course she wishes she’d been offered as a short story writer tiptoeing towards poetry, wondering if she could…
As Tania herself learned, writing poetry doesn’t require special qualifications and extensive knowledge of potentially baffling poetic terms. Through reading and discussing poems from around the world and across time, in different forms, styles and genres, we’ll look not at what a poem must be, but everything it could be, to inspire you to take the word “poem” and make it your own.
This course will provide a safe and encouraging space to begin your journey into poetry. Through fortnightly writing assignments, we will explore what effect the shape of words on a page can have, the magic that the slicing of a line can perform, as well as playing with music, rhythm and breath and testing what writing a poem can give you permission you to let go of as well as encourage you to add.
Course outline
- Three assignments, including reading material, discussion prompts and writing exercises
- Encouragement to share your work but no formal feedback requirement on exercises
- Detailed written feedback from the course tutor on a final submission
- Optional Zoom writing sessions with Tania (running twice)
- An online writing community, lasting beyond the end of the course
This course is eight weeks long and asynchronous (so you can log in and add to the discussion whenever you want). There are weekly ‘windows’ of when you should read assignments, join in discussion of the reading and writing exercises, and share your work if you would like to.
Course timetable and content
Across the three assignments, we will feel and turn the word “poem” over and around, looking at short and longer poems in order to demystify the ingredients that combine to produce something we allow ourselves to call “poetry”.
Week 1 (June 13th): Assignment 1 – the joys of the line break
Week 2 (June 20th): time to read, write, discuss and share your work
Week 3 (June 27th): Assignment 2 – rhymes, half-rhymes and no rhymes
Week 4 (July 4th): time to read, write, discuss and share your work
Week 5 (July 11th): Assignment 3 – the shape of your words
Week 6 (July 18th): time to read, write, discuss and share your work
Week 7 (July 25th): finsh and submit a final piece to Tania for feedback
Week 8 (August 1st): receive detailed written feedback from Tania on your submission
Tania will schedule the live Zoom writing sessions when the course starts, to accommodate time zones across the group.
Time commitment
You can work through the material and do writing exercises at your own pace. To help with your planning, we suggest you allow a minimum of three hours for each lesson/assignment, and a little extra for optional recommended reading.
Learning online
The course will take place online, in a closed group on a platform called Slack. You’ll need to have internet access but not at set times – you can log in and join the discussion whenever you like. Slack is easy to use, and we’ll provide you with full instructions and guidance before the course starts. On Slack, we won’t have scheduled live chats (except for the optional Zoom sessions), but there will be plenty of opportunity to interact with Tania and the other course participants in discussion threads, throughout the eight weeks.
