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• Attained at least a 2.70 cumulative GPA in concentrate courses
• Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00
• Fulfilled all program requirements AND completed a minimum of 120 credits for a single major or 165 for a dual major
• Completed a minimum of 60 institutional credits for a single major or 105 institutional credits for a dual major
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Online undergraduate-level course, creative writing: poetry.

Authored by Pat Pattison

Course Code: OLART-215

Next semester starts June 24 Enroll by 5 PM ET. Limited seats available.--> Enroll by 5 PM ET. Limited seats available.-->

3-credit tuition, non-credit tuition.

Creative Writing: Poetry is a course for writers—songwriters, poets, and anyone who wants to write more effectively. The course—authored by Pat Pattison, who developed the curriculum for the only songwriting major in the country at Berklee—will give you specific tools to help you craft and control your writing. You will be taken through a step-by-step process, each step handing you another tool to give what you say more power. You'll learn how to enhance your ideas through arranging lines into odd or even numbered line groups and creating either a feeling of tension or resolution with the composition itself, independent of the poem's meaning. You'll learn placement, timing, focus, and especially how to use rhythm in language expressively.

• Write clearly and strongly
• Precisely control form and composition
• Counter-point lines against phrases to create musical effects
• Use language rhythms to create tension and resolution
• Understand the relationship between poetry and music
• Deeply understand prosody, the fundamental principle underlying not only poetry, but art in general

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Lesson 1: Prose vs. Poetry

• Prose: Phrase Lengths
• Sentence Construction: Simple Sentences
• Compound Sentences
• Sentence Types
• Lines with Multiple Phrases
• Units of Composition

Lesson 2: Managing End-Stops 

• Creating Subordinate Clauses
• Stable and Unstable Groupings
• "Days" by Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Instability
• Student Poetry Examples
• Switching Line Order

Lesson 3: Managing Caesuras 

• Frontal, Medial, and Terminal Caesuras
• Creating Tension
• Emerson's Handling of Caesuras
• Creating Motion

Lesson 4: Managing Enjambment

• Moving from Light to Heavy
• Other Movement
• Managing Enjambment

Lesson 5: Writing in Iambic Pentameter

• Stressed and Unstressed Syllables
• Iambic Pentameter
• Blending Languages
• Why Pentameter?
• English Poetry
• Groove and Variation
• "Distractions" by Emma Joy Hanley
• "The Woman with Fire Engine Nails" by Caroline Harvey
• Learning your Craft

Lesson 6: Substituting in Iambic Pentameter

• Substituting in Iambic Pentameter
• Themes and Variations
• Creating Emotion
• "After Long Silence" by William Butler Yeats
• Substitutions in "After Long Silence"
• Going Against Expectations

Lesson 7: Writing in Blank Verse 

• Writing in Blank Verse
• "Birches" by Robert Frost
• "Ulysses" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
• Compositional Tools
• "Spring" by Elisa Lomazzo
• "Christmas Cheer" by Ian Henchy

Lesson 8: Blank Verse Again 

• More on Blank Verse
• Blank Verse and Substitutions
• "A Wake" by Ryan Toll
• "Still" by Rachel Borovik

Lesson 9: Using Rhyme

• Using Rhyme
• Sound in Poetry
• Rhyme Schemes
• Perfect Rhyme
• Consonance Rhyme
• More on Consonance Rhyme
• Rhyme Schemes Revisited
• "Ode to the West Wind" by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Lesson 10: English (or Shakespearean) Sonnet

• English or Shakespearean Sonnet
• "When I Have Fears" by John Keats

Lesson 11: English (or Shakespearean) Sonnet Continued

• Modern Sonnets
• "Putting in the Seed" by Robert Frost
• "Baby Running Barefoot" by D. H. Lawrence

Lesson 12: Italian (or Pertrarchian) Sonnet        

• The Italian (or Petrarchian) Sonnet
• The First Eight Lines
• "In Memoriam"
• The Italian Sonnet Road Map
• "Mezzo Cammin" 
• "Grief"
• "Design"
• The ccdeed sestet
• e. e. cummings
• e. e. cummings Variation

Requirements

Prerequisites and course-specific requirements .

Prerequisite Courses, Knowledge, and/or Skills All students enrolled in this course must know English well enough to:

• Easily understand recorded videos and written class lessons
• Participate successfully in written and oral class discussions
• Read, write, and study without being hindered by language problems
• Possess intermediate or advanced grammar skills related to punctuation and verb conjugation Though the course uses a rudimentary musical vocabulary, no musical training is required.

Textbook(s)

• No textbooks required

Student Deals After enrolling, be sure to check out our Student Deals page for various offers on software, hardware, and more. Please contact [email protected] with any questions.

General Course Requirements

Below are the minimum requirements to access the course environment and participate in Live Chats. Please make sure to also check the Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements section above, and ensure your computer meets or exceeds the minimum system requirements for all software needed for your course. 

• macOS High Sierra 10.13 or later
• Windows 10 or later
• Latest version of Google Chrome
• Zoom meeting software
• Speakers or headphones
• External or internal microphone
• Broadband Internet connection

Instructors

Pat Pattison is a professor at Berklee College of Music, where he teaches lyric writing and poetry. In addition to his four books, Songwriting Without Boundaries  (Penguin/Random House), Writing Better Lyrics, 2nd Edition (Penguin/Random House), The Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure (Hal Leonard), and The Essential Guide to Rhyming (Hal Leonard), Pat has developed several online courses for Berklee Online. He has written more than 50 articles for various blogs and magazines, including American Songwriter , and has chapters in both The Poetics of American Song Lyrics (University Press of Mississippi) and The Handbook on Creative Writing (Edinburgh University Press).

Eric Leva is a songwriter, singer, producer, and classically trained pianist from Massachusetts. Leva has studied at the New England Conservatory of Music and Berklee College of Music. Following his studies, Leva spent time in New York City to hone his craft and develop his writing. A songwriting award from the ASCAP Foundation eventually sparked a move to Los Angeles to pursue more collaborations. His recent releases include Kesha, DNCE, Wes Period, and Rozzi.

Sarah Anne Stinnett is a multi-disciplinary artist and educator. Since 2017 she has served as Teaching Assistant for Harvard Extension and Harvard Summer Schools in the subjects of speech, communication, and social media. At Lesley University she is Teaching Assistant for Musical Theater Writing and instructs curriculum in collaboration, voice, and performance. Her core tenets in teaching are as in life: employ unparalleled curiosity, to do is to discover, and a life of learning and imagination is impelled by the study of the masters before.

What's Next?

When taken for credit, Creative Writing: Poetry can be applied towards the completion of these related programs:

Related Certificate Programs

• General Music Studies Professional Certificate
• General Music Studies Advanced Professional Certificate

Related Degree Majors

• Bachelor's Degree in Music Production
• Bachelor's Degree in Music Business
• Bachelor's Degree in Music Composition for Film, TV, and Games
• Bachelor's Degree in Electronic Music Production and Sound Design
• Bachelor's Degree in Interdisciplinary Music Studies (Create Your Own Major)
• Bachelor's Degree in Songwriting
• Bachelor's Degree in Guitar Performance
• (Pre-Degree) Undeclared Option
• Bachelor's Degree in Songwriting and Producing Music

Related Music Career Roles

Employers look for skills learned in this course, when hiring for the following music career roles:

Music Journalist

Proofreader

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Upcoming Online Poetry Writing Courses

April courses, a poet’s calling card: writing and composing a chapbook, with caitlin scarano.

The poetry chapbook gives poets the chance to make a small, artful collection around a poetic obsession. Learn how to craft yours in this 8 week chapbook intensive.

Poems of All Sizes: Haiku, Tanka, and Japanese Poetic Forms

With miho kinnas.

Course full. Contact us to join waitlist.

Explore the history and poetics of Japanese poetry forms, and write haiku, tanka, renga, haiga, and linked verse poetry.

Live Workshop , Poetry

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With amy bonnaffons.

Journal to discover yourself, find a wellspring of creativity, and produce publication-ready pieces.

Creative Nonfiction , Fiction , Lifestyle and Wellness , Memoir , Novel , Personal Essay , Poetry , Short Story , Stage and Broadcast

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With zining mok.

A poem can tell a story, communicate our innermost thoughts, and reveal what moves us most deeply. Craft poems that do all of this and more in this guided poetry workshop.  

The Joy of Poetry: A Beginner-Friendly Workshop

With joy roulier sawyer.

Have you wanted to get into poetry, but don't know where to start? Learn the craft from the Joy of poetry herself in this welcoming workshop.

May Courses

(live workshop) poetry as sacred attention, with nadia colburn.

Poetry asks us to slow down, listen, and pay attention. In this meditative workshop, we'll open ourselves to the beauty and mystery of poetry.

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Experiments in Poetry

With elizabeth winder.

See poetry in a totally new light! Draw inspiration from the most radical, innovative, and imaginative poets in literary history, master their techniques, and write new exciting poems of your own.

Writing Circle Workshop: Moving Toward Creativity & Light

With susan vespoli.

Connect with other writers, spark your creativity, and write light-filled poems in this writing circle workshop. 

It Starts with Play: Get (Back) into Writing

With janée baugher.

Harness the joy of creativity in this inspiration-focused class, where we'll uncover new ideas for writing projects and draft loads of new material. 

Poetry Workshop: Bring Your Poems to Life

With rosemary tantra bensko.

Join us for this workshop on creating powerful poems—poems that are clear and organized, fresh and moving, full of life.

June Courses

Ordinary to extraordinary: turning everyday experiences into poetry, with tina barry.

No experience is too small or mundane to serve as a foundation for extraordinary poetry and short fiction.

Creative Nonfiction , Personal Essay , Poetry

Call of the Weird: Poetry and Nature

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Creative Nonfiction , Fiction , Lifestyle and Wellness , Memoir , Novel , Personal Essay , Poetry , Short Story

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With marc olmsted.

Learn how to spotlight beauty through fresh, vivid, and surprising language, in this four week mindfulness writing course.

Creative Nonfiction , Fiction , Memoir , Novel , Personal Essay , Poetry , Short Story , Stage and Broadcast

July Courses

Opening the door to poetry, with jude nutter.

How do we use poetry to express life's marvelous complexity? Learn how to control language beyond the "ordinary" and discover the many possibilities of poetry.

Both Fish and Fowl: The Prose Poem

With anna scotti.

A successful prose poem reads like a magic trick. Learn how to wield the powers of poetry in the context of prose in this comprehensive prose poetry course.

Poetry , Short Story

Writing Mindfulness: Sensual World/Poetry Mind

A four-week class, melding the language mind with the sensual: How to turn detailed observation into a poem. With Marc Olmsted.

August Courses

Crafting poems in form: rhyme, meter, fixed forms, and more, with jonathan j.g. mcclure.

Working within the guidelines of a fixed poetic structure can make your poetry more creative, not less. Find freedom in form in this 8 week workshop. 

The Deep Dive: Poem As Self-Discovery

With meghan sterling.

Through poetry, we can access our deepest truths. Use the poem as a roadmap to self-discovery in this 6-week poetic deep-dive.

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September Courses

A writerly life: develop a writing routine that works for you, with shelby hinte.

What does a writer's life look like? Build a productive writing habit in this course for writers of all backgrounds.

Telling Truth: A Poetry Workshop

With ollie schminkey.

Learn how to tell your story and write a mini chapbook of poems in this truth-driven poetry workshop.

Writing with Consistency and Courage

With tamara dean.

What makes a successful writer? It's not talent, craft, or even the right connections—it's consistency and courage.

Creative Nonfiction , Fiction , Lifestyle and Wellness , Live Workshop , Memoir , Novel , Personal Essay , Poetry , Short Story

Putting It All Together: Completing Your First Poetry Manuscript

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October Courses

Plumbing the past: turning life experience into poetry, flash and creative non-fiction.

Dig deep into personal ritual while studying narrative poets, short fiction and non-fiction authors, and food writers.

Creative Nonfiction , Personal Essay , Poetry , Short Story

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Let the spirit of language move through you. In this 6 week course, we will study, write, and share poetry about the sacredness of human experience.

January Courses

The poetry of play.

Get playful in your poetry in this fun-focused workshop, where we'll experiment our ways into new and delightful poems. 

Unscheduled Courses

These online writing classes don’t currently have a next session on our calendar, but will soon. If you see a course you’re interested in, use the “I’m Interested” button to let us know, and we’ll follow up with you when the course is on our calendar next.

Want to reach us or our instructors with questions about our online writing courses? Contact us at [email protected] , or visit the contact form .

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*private class | the craft of poetry.

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How do poets write about love in fresh, surprising, original ways? Tackle the art of love poetry and write about all kinds of love in this generative workshop.

Architecture of the Creative Heart: Writing Formal Poetry

With david mills.

Learn how diving into form—the coherent relationship of all of a poem’s parts—can enhance your creativity and freedom as a poet.

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With kelly bingham.

Even if you’ve never written poetry before, you can begin the rewarding process of crafting a poetry novel for Young Adults. Is there a market for novels written in verse? Are they well received? Yes, there is, and yes, they are!

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Creative Nonfiction , Fiction , Memoir , Novel , Poetry

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Deep Waters: The Prose Poem Advanced Workshop

Take the plunge in this advanced prose poetry course, where you'll write and revise short, powerful works of prose that hit like poetry.

Embodied Writing: Improve Your Writing with Full-Body Creativity

Have a grand time with specific physical exercises that honor your health, generate imaginative ideas, explore deeply and make your creative writing entertaining.

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Even smaller: adventures in short-form writing.

Less is more in this bite-sized writing class, where you'll learn how to tell complete stories under the tightest word counts.  

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With moriel rothman-zecher.

Whether you're new to poetry or returning after a hiatus, rekindle the spark that puts verse to page in this exploratory poetry class.

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Get your butt in the chair, your mind roaming freely, and your creative juices flowing in this motivational, all-genres writing class.

Creative Nonfiction , Fiction , Lifestyle and Wellness , Live Workshop , Memoir , Novel , Personal Essay , Poetry , Short Story , Stage and Broadcast

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Only 3 seats left!

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Creative Nonfiction , Fiction , Lifestyle and Wellness , Personal Essay , Poetry , Short Story

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Only 1 seat left!

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Fiction , Poetry , Short Story

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Creative Nonfiction , Fiction , Memoir , Personal Essay , Poetry , Short Story

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Creative Nonfiction , Fiction , Lifestyle and Wellness , Poetry

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How do poets tell their stories in prose? Take the leap from poetry to memoir in this hybrid writing workshop.

Creative Nonfiction , Live Workshop , Memoir , Poetry

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By studying the poems of Billy Collins, Ellen Bass, Natalie Diaz, and more, write stunning poetry in this generative writing circle workshop.

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Write freely and expressively in this 8-week poetry workshop. Along the way, we'll explore the transformative work of 9 contemporary poets.

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By studying the poems of Maya Stein, Sharon Olds, Alberto Rios, and more, write stunning poetry in this generative writing circle workshop.

Writing Circle Workshop: A Focus on Six Contemporary Poets –Tues./Sat.

Writing circle workshop: finding community and creativity in a challenging time.

Write out the storm: Join supportive, friendly faces in twice-weekly virtual community writing circles.

Writing Circle Workshop: Writing for Happiness, Healing, and Health (Monday/Friday)

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Creative Nonfiction , Fiction , Lifestyle and Wellness , Memoir , Personal Essay , Poetry , Short Story

Writing Circle Workshop: Writing for Happiness, Healing, and Health (Tuesday/Saturday)

Writing circles & exercises to spark new poems (mondays and fridays).

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Writing Circles & Exercises to Spark New Poems (Tuesdays and Saturdays)

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Lifestyle and Wellness , Poetry , Short Story

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Course details

• Wed 18 Sep 2024 to 29 Nov 2024
• Mon 20 Jan 2025 to 04 Apr 2025
• Mon 12 May 2025 to 25 Jul 2025

Writing Poetry (Online)

UThere are no time-tabled sessions on this course. Using a specially designed virtual learning environment this online course guides students through weekly pathways of directed readings and learning activities. Students interact with their tutor and the other course participants through tutor-guided, text-based forum discussions. There are no ‘live-time’ video meetings meaning you can study flexibly in your own time under the direct tuition of an expert. For further information please click here

How can poetic form help me to turn the passion and intensity of life into memorable expressions? How can an appreciation of the techniques used by past and living poets help me to improve as a poet? Take this course and find out.

Poetry can seem like a members-only club. Even the names of poetic forms such as 'sonnet', 'villanelle', and 'sestina' can be as intimidating as the list of writers associated with them, from Shakespeare to Shelley to Sean O'Brien. This course is designed to demystify poetic composition, and to help students to gain the confidence to produce poems of their own. It introduces students to a wide range of poems and poetic techniques with the aim of enabling them to gain a deeper appreciation of how poetry works, an understanding of the forms best suited to the kind of statements that they are interested in making, and confidence in deploying such devices as metre, rhyme, figurative language. This course is for anyone who would like to start to write - or to write better - poetry.

For information on how the courses work, please click here .

Programme details

1. Rhyme, Rhythm and Metre 2. Figurative Language 3. Divisions 4. Blank Verse 5. Syllabic verse and free verse 6. Free Verse II 7. Lyric Poetry 8. The Sonnet 9. Pastoral 10. What More and What Next We strongly recommend that you try to find a little time each week to engage in the online conversations (at times that are convenient to you) as the forums are an integral, and very rewarding, part of the course and the online learning experience.

Recommended reading

To participate in the course you will need to have regular access to the Internet and you will need to buy the following books:

• Strand, Mark, and Eavan Boland, The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms (New York: W. W. Norton & Co. Ltd, 2001)
• Hollander, John, Rhymes Reason: A Guide to English Verse (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001)

Digital Certification

Credit Application Transfer Scheme (CATS) points 

To earn credit (CATS points) for your course you will need to register and pay an additional £10 fee for each course you enrol on. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online. If you do not register when you enrol, you have up until the course start date to register and pay the £10 fee. 

See more information on CATS point

Coursework is an integral part of all online courses and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework, but only those who have registered for credit will be awarded CATS points for completing work at the required standard. If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education, you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee. 

Digital credentials

All students who pass their final assignment, whether registered for credit or not, will be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Upon successful completion, you will receive a link to download a University of Oxford digital certificate. Information on how to access this digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so. 

Please note that assignments are not graded but are marked either pass or fail. 

Dr Simon Pomery

Dr Simon Pomery is a sonic artist, drummer, guitarist and poet. He has performed his poetry at Xing the Line; Ikletik; European Poetry Festival; Clinic; A Year in Literature Festival, Magdalen College, University of Cambridge; CB1; BroadCast; The Book Club Boutique; Modern Poetry Day, in honour of T.S. Eliot, at Naishe Priory, East Coker; Post-Projects, New Cross, with a “poster-poems‟ installation from my Steve Reich Variations; Camaradefest at Rich Mix; Interrobang at the Betsey Trotwood; Writers At Risk for the Enemies Project and English Pen. In 2022 he founded the label/publisher/event series ‘Sonic Poetics’ in London: the name comes from his doctoral thesis which was completed in 2022: ‘ Sonic Poetics: Sound and Listening in the Work of M. NourbeSe Philip and Sean Bonney ’. His first pamphlet of poems , 'The Stream', was published in 2010 by tall-lighthouse. FLUF published his first collection of poetry, ‘FOUR PINTS OF GUINNESS FOR TONY CONRAD’, on Bloomsday in 2019., Popular Songs (Sonic Poetics) appeared in 2022. His poetry has been widely published in journals including The Times Literary Supplement, 3am Magazine, P.N. Review, and Sure Hope.

Course aims

This course aims to introduce participants to a wide variety of poetic technique and form.

Teaching methods

• guided reading;
• guided writing tasks;
• guided use of relevant websites;
• use of tutor notes and handouts;
• close critical analyses of selected extracts from the texts studied and participants own writing.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course participants will be expected to understand:

• a wide range of verse forms and structures;
• notable examples of poetic forms from the history of literature in English;
• the relative advantages and challenges of one verse form over another;
• which forms and techniques are best suited to one's own emerging voice.

By the end of this course participants will be expected to have gained the following skills:

• competence and confidence in writing in a wide range of verse forms;
• an ability to recognise and experiment with different poetic structures and techniques;
• an ability to articulate their intentions and achievement in engaging with poetic form.

Assessment methods

You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. Assignment 1 is up to 500 words about a drafted poem, as well as the drafted poem.  This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work due at the end of the course. Your assessed work, Assignment 2, is more drafts of that same first poem as well as 3 other poems, no fewer than 10 and no more than 45 lines. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.

English Language Requirements

We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements please follow this link: https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/english-language-requirements

Application

Please use the 'Book' or 'Apply' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an Enrolment form for short courses | Oxford University Department for Continuing Education

Level and demands

FHEQ level 4, 10 weeks, approx 10 hours per week, therefore a total of about 100 study hours.

IT requirements

This course is delivered online; to participate you must to be familiar with using a computer for purposes such as sending email and searching the Internet. You will also need regular access to the Internet and a computer meeting our recommended minimum computer specification.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support

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73 Best Poetry Creative Writing Classes in 2024

Showing 73 courses that match your search.

Quilting Together Your Scraps and Pieces of Writing

Anyone else have scraps of writing just sitting in the Google drive or an overstuffed notebook? What do you do with them all? These pieces do all have something in common; you wrote them and you like them, so we are going to have an old fashioned quilting bee.

Website: https://www.writespacehouston.org/creative-writing.html

Categories: Poetry

Start date:

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

Exploring Poetic Forms: a 6-Week Generative Zoom

Writing Workshops

Level up your poetry by gaining form tools for your toolbox! In this 6-week workshop, we’ll explore why form is relevant for contemporary poets, and how we can take advantage of form to strengthen both traditional and free-verse poems.

Website: https://writingworkshops.com/collections/the-best-online-...

The Flowers of Rhetoric Applied to Your Poems

Poetry School

Do you know your prolepsis from your epanalepsis? Or your tricolon from your transferred epithet? How about your polyptoton from your hyperbaton? All will be explained in this half-day course. After this session, you’ll have tools to create a powerful impact on readers of your work.

Website: https://poetryschool.com/courses/the-flowers-of-rhetoric-...

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Writing Poetry

University of Oxford

This 10-week online course from Oxford University, taught by Dr. Simon Pomery, is designed for flexible learning. It involves tutor-guided forum discussions and self-paced study, focusing on reading and activities around poetry. Suitable for those looking to explore poetry writing in a structured yet flexible environment​​​​​​​​​​.

Website: https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/writing-poetry-online

April, 2024

Tucson Workshop (Mahaffey) - Spring 2024

The Writers Studio

The Writers Studio Tucson Workshop is open to both beginning and experienced writers eager to learn the elements of craft, including first- and third-person narrators, tone and mood. An important goal of the workshop is to help writers understand that a narrative voice is born out of conscious creation.

Website: https://courses.writerstudio.com/courses/tucson-workshop-...

May Seaport Free Write

What's more satisfying than leaving work behind on a Friday evening? Rounding out the week with a free writing session of course! Maximize that Friday feeling and kick off your writing weekend with us! In 60 jam-packed minutes, you’ll meet fellow writers and get your creative juices flowing!

Website: https://grubstreet.org/findaclass/class/may-seaport-free-...

Getting Your Poetry Published

The Writer's Center

This intensive one-day workshop will offer all poets—whether they have yet to submit their first poem to a literary journal or are ready to present a publisher with a book-length manuscript—hands-on advice on how to achieve their publishing goals.

Website: https://writer.org/event/getting-your-poetry-published/

Pacing, Structure and Timelines in Fiction 8-Week Zoom Workshop

Get your agent submission questions answered! This workshop will equip you with everything you need to jump into the publishing industry. Discuss the roles of agents and editors, what they’re looking for in work, and how you can make your work stand out through strong query letters, pitches, and bios.

Start to Write Poetry

Faber Academy

Get instant feedback on your poems, learn how to find inspiration all around you, and explore how to start reading – and thinking – like a poet in this one-day introduction to writing poems.

Website: https://faberacademy.com/product/start-to-write-poetry-28...

Open all year round

Writing Comic Poetry: Seriously?!

Quebec Writers' Federation

Can a poem be funny? Can we balance the light and the dark, find hilarity in a haiku? What is the value of play in creation? In this workshop, participants will be encouraged to explore the place of humor in their work, through guided readings, discussions, and exercises.

Website: https://qwf.org/product/writing-comic-poetry-seriously/

March, 2024

Poetry Explorations: Scientific Topics

In this class, you will discover ways to explore the physical and natural world by means of poetry. You will use observation, creative play, and iterative building, along with the constraints of forms, and the flexibility of free verse to represent scientific knowledge as poetic works of art.

Website: https://www.skillshare.com/en/classes/Poetry-Explorations...

Poetry Generative and Critique Workshop

Attic Institute

Join us for a Poetry Workshop, a class that welcomes poets of all levels of experience. Learn the craft of poetry in a welcoming and supportive setting. Every class includes a variety of writing exercises designed to inspire original poetry throughout the course and beyond.

Website: https://atticinstitute.com/node/2832

How to choose a poetry writing class

Looking to build your writing skillset, learn more about your genre, or finally finish that poem you’ve been working on? You’re in the right place. That’s why we built this directory of the best writing courses.

However, creative writing classes aren’t one size fit all. If you’re planning to join a poetry writing class in particular, you’ll want to make sure that it matches what you’re seeking to learn about poetry writing.

So make sure to consider the following questions when you’re researching poetry writing courses:

• Who is the instructor? How many years of experience do they have in poetry writing?
• Is there something in particular you’d like to learn about poetry writing? Does this course include it?
• How long is the course, and where is it taught?
• How much does the poetry writing course cost? Does it fit into your budget?

More poetry writing resources

Whether you’re a new or established author, there are always evergreen resources out there to how to get a headstart on poetry writing. 

Free online materials

• How to Write a Poem (blog post)
• How to Publish a Poem (blog post)
• Places to Submit Your Poetry (blog post)
• 72 Top Poetry Book Publishers (resource)
• 13 Top Poetry Literary Agents (resource)

Recommended books

• For writers in the UK:  Writers' & Artists' Yearbook  
• For writers in the US:  Writer’s Market 2020

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Poetry Courses

• Creative Writing Programme (In-person)
• Creative Writing Programme (Online)
• The Life Writing Programme (In-person)
• Advanced Writing Workshops (In-person)
• Advanced Poetry Workshops (In-person)
• Advanced Poetry Workshops (Online)
• Creative Writing Programme (Blended)

Writing Poetry (Online) 2022-2023

(20 weeks, one evening per week).

This course will boost your writing in a friendly, structured environment. It is suitable for both new and more experienced writers. In practical work guided by your tutor, you will explore the effects of techniques in published poetry and learn how to strengthen your own poetry through an understanding of craft. You will learn creative and critical skills and develop a stronger individual style.

The Move to Online Learning

The technology is now available for us to move confidently into online learning. Video conferencing allows us to maintain the interactive element we feel is crucial to successful teaching. We have discovered that in many areas it offers effective approaches to teaching beyond those available in the traditional classroom. We are also excited at the prospect of working with writers from more diverse backgrounds, physically, geographically and culturally.

In the week before the beginning of your course you will be invited to attend Zoom familiarisation sessions if you have not taken an online learning course before.

This course will:

• look at a range of poetic techniques such as compression, imagery, texture, line breaks, traditional forms, rhyme and metre.
• consider the value of poetry in the contemporary world and our relationships with it.
• cover a variety of topics such as writing practice, sound and texture, form and metre, imagery and editing
• read and discuss works by poets such as Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickinson, Bernadette Mayer, Amiri Baraka, Frank O’Hara and Liao Yiwu
• discuss methods of presenting poetry including publishing, performance and mixed media

As well as considering practical aspects of writing technique and exploring them through your own writing in class, you will be asked to bring in up to 50 lines of your poetry for constructive feedback from your tutor and fellow writers. Each student will workshop poems like this twice on the course, both times receiving constructive and detailed feedback from other members of the writing group and your tutor, who will provide written comments. You will have the opportunity to hand in poetry of up to 100 lines at the end of the course. This work will be read by your tutor, annotated and returned with supportive feedback both on your strengths and on how your use of poetic techniques might be enhanced.

Your Learning Space

Each writing group on the Creative Writing Programme has its own course page on our website. Once logged in to your course you will have access to course outlines, supporting seminar notes and a Writer’s Forum where you can chat with other writers in your group. Your tutor will add materials to your course page as the course progresses. Links for your online classes will be placed on this page. To access your online class, simply click on the link provided and your Zoom class will open on your desktop where you will be able to see your tutor and the other members of your group.

It is now a standard requirement that writers on writing programmes use computers for communication and the production of work. This has become more important now that online learning is being used more extensively. Writers should ensure that they have access to a desktop computer with a video camera and good internet connection.

What is required of me?

You will need to be able to make a six-month commitment. Over these six months you will need to organise a minimum of six hours per week for reading and the development of writing activities and exercises: this includes seminar time, writing time and reading time.

How are seminars structured?

Each weekly online or face to face seminar runs for two hours. Seminars will include a mix of discussion of work you have written whilst on the course and the discussion of published texts, group work, tutor led feedback and taught sessions.

Programme Length:  One year in 20 taught sessions. Maximum group size 15

Time: tuesdays 6.30 pm- 8.30pm, venue: online, term dates:.

Autumn: 3rd October – 16th December (Reading Week 24th – 28th October)

Spring: 9th January – 24th March (Reading Week 13th – 17th February)

Entry requirements : No formal qualifications required

Programme tutor:  verity spott.

Net price: £280

Total: £350

Fees can be paid in full or at the beginning of each term. There is a £20 additional admin fee for the Autumn Term if fees are paid per term:

Autumn Term: £195 (incl. VAT)

Spring/Summer Term: £175 (incl. VAT)

To enrol: click on one of the payment links at the bottom of this page

Please ensure that you have read our terms and conditions . for further information on this course or our other programmes contact.

Mark Slater [email protected]

Manuscript Assessment

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Starting Out

• How’s My Driving
• An honest assessment of your work-in-progress, with advice to help you with the rest of the draft.
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• Submission Review
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• Magazine Submission Review
• Ready to submit your poems to magazines, journals or websites? Get feedback on a selection of four to six of them to check you're on the right track.
• Pamphlet Review
• Designed for poets preparing a pamphlet for possible publication, this report will offer constructive feedback on a group of up to twenty poems.
• Collection Review
• Put your poems through their paces with an in-depth evaluation of your entire collection.
• Creative Writing Exercises
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Creative Writing Courses

Our creative writing courses are run by award-winning authors and industry experts from Faber and beyond. Whether you’re just starting out or an experienced writer taking the next step in your career, we offer the support and structure you need to achieve your writing goals.

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Our advanced courses in fiction and poetry offer the next step for the committed writer – serious writing time, industry advice and expert guidance, along with a close-knit group of fellow writers to keep you on track.

Writing a Novel (Evening)

What do these levels mean?

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Wednesday 02 Oct 2024

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Shelley Weiner, Sabrina Broadbent, Nikesh Shukla

Thursday 03 Oct 2024

The Salon: Developing Your Poems

Richard Scott, Rachel Long

Thursday 18 Apr 2024

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Mick Jackson

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Wednesday 24 Apr 2024

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Keith Ridgway

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Richard Skinner, Sarah May

Saturday 27 Apr 2024

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Victoria Adukwei Bulley

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Course Level Guide

There’s something for everyone at the Faber Academy, whether you’re a complete beginner or a seasoned writer or somewhere in between. To help you select the right course for you, this guide breaks down what the different levels mean.

These courses are ideal for those who are curious about writing and have little to no prior experience in the field. There are no pre-requisite for these courses – all we ask is that you come with an open mind and a keenness to learn. That’s not to say they aren’t suitable for someone with more experience, though – if you’re looking to refresh your skills or experiment with a new area of writing, you’re also welcome to enrol.

These courses are ideal for those who have some experience in writing – as a hobby, or perhaps through academic or professional work – and are looking for challenging courses to hone their skills further. These courses are also a good next step if you’ve already taken a beginners’ class but don’t feel ready to commit to an advanced course yet.

These courses are ideal for seasoned writers who are serious about getting published. Entry to most of these courses is on an application basis and writers will usually be asked to submit samples of their work-in-progress or a past project.

• Poetry Course

Start Date: 7th May, 2024 Duration: 6 Weeks Fee: $299 3 places remaining

Welcome to Our Online Poetry Writing Course!

Our exclusive 6-week Online Poetry Writing Course will take you on a creative journey of profound exploration through the art of poetry! With our expert guidance and support, you’ll unleash your inner poet and discover the depth and beauty of this timeless art form. Our course is designed to help you hone your poetic skills and develop your unique writing style, all under the guidance of published poets who bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the table.

Course Structure and Flexibility

Each week, you’ll receive a new module containing text lessons that you can work on at a pace that suits your lifestyle, ensuring maximum flexibility. We recommend dedicating 2-3 hours per week to this course. No set class hours allow you to learn at your convenience.

Registration and Course Availability

Our courses are in high demand, so we encourage early registration to secure your spot. While our talented instructors are based in New Zealand, our classes are open to students from all over the world.

Course Access and Materials

Even after the course ends, you’ll have lifetime access to the course materials, allowing you to revisit the content whenever you need a refresher.

Starting Your Course

Your tutor will email you the first module on the course start date. Check your Spam/Junk folder to ensure you don’t miss this information. Every week, you’ll be assigned a written task to help you learn and develop your skills. Upon completion, you’ll submit these assignments for personalised feedback from your dedicated online tutor, who will guide and support you every step of the way, pushing you to refine your craft and elevate your poetry to new heights! Our weekly modules are broken down into the following topics:

Week One – Writing Poems That Matter We start with setting intentions: for our poems, practice, process. We will examine the ‘why’ that carries us to the page – what dreams and desires do we have for the poems we write? What do we want them, if anything, to ‘do’? What makes them matter, if only to ourselves? How can we embed a sense of creative urgency to write braver and bolder work, over the next six weeks?

Week Two – The ‘Long-Armed’ Poem: Letting Anything Belong This week we will explore examples of poems that roam, wander freely, welcoming various thoughts, feelings, and observations inside their doors, rather than shutting them out. We will reflect on the potential limitations we set ourselves by what we feel should ‘belong’ in a poem, and work to allow chaos to enter our first drafts, before deciding what we let stay, what we choose to cast off.

Week Three – Poems That (Like Us) Contain Multitudes This week we will challenge the idea that a poem must sing in one note, and instead turn to Donald Hall’s belief that when it comes to poetry: ‘no conflict, no energy’. We will explore the importance of empathy and nuance when writing our own personal experience / the experiences of others, and examine the impact of poems that hold vast emotional landscapes.

Week Four – Poems That Reimagine, Retell, Make Possible This week we look to the poets who use poetry to imagine a world different than this one. Who turn to the page to rewrite their own stories, reclaim a history. We will investigate the power of erasure and blackout poetry: forms that enable you to take an experience, feeling, or entire text, and transform it into something fresh, new, yours.

Week Five – On Finding The Form This week we take a deep-dive into the many ways poetic form can both restrict and set free. Make a poem sing or stifle it. We will explore how learning the rules, only to break them, can create delightful surprises for both writer and reader. You will also have the opportunity to devise your own, personalised form of poetry, based on elements that both excite and challenge you.

Week Six – What We Did, What Will Do Next In this session, we will look back on what we have achieved, however small or large. You will have the chance to ‘showcase’ a poem that you are proud of, and we will set out clear goals and ideas that will support you to keep going, and growing, as a poet.

Join Us Today

Take this opportunity to immerse yourself in a world of creativity and self-expression as you learn from experienced poets and engage with a community of like-minded individuals. So join us, and let us help you bring your poetic vision to life!

To find out more about how the online courses work, or if you have any further queries, you can check out our  Frequently Asked Questions  or email us at [email protected] .

Our cancellation/refund policy may be viewed  here .

About The Tutor

The Writers Studio

The Original School of Creative Writing and Thinking, est. 1987

Online Level 1

About online level 1 courses.

Our Online Level I workshop is an introduction to the philosophy on which The Writers Studio was founded in 1987 by Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Philip Schultz. Persona writing, a method of borrowing the voice and temperament of accomplished writers, offers writers the imaginative distance and perspective they need to overcome their negative inclinations, their fear of self-exposure and endless doubt. This method also helps writers try on different voices, or personas, to develop narrative and lyric voices to be used as a tool for unlocking one’s most intimate and private stories and turning even their most difficult subject matter into inspiration for writing fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction.

Weekly exercises based on short pieces of published work are turned into assignments designed to introduce students to various literary styles and approaches and broaden their sense of what is possible in their own work. As the student’s understanding of technique deepens so does the clarity and emotional power of the writing. Teachers provide written weekly critiques of each student’s work, a degree of attention nearly unheard of elsewhere. The teacher also leads weekly one-hour discussions of technique via Google Meet or typed chat.

To take a class, all students need is a computer or tablet with an internet connection. A link to our friendly online classroom is emailed to you after you register, and tech support is available throughout the class.

Available Online Level 1 Intro to Fiction & Poetry Courses

The writers studio, online and local communities.

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Free Online Poetry Courses from Top Universities

Free Poetry Courses

Free poetry courses can be taken online with a laptop or home computer and an Internet connection. Among other things, students can study poets like Sorley MacLean and W. B. Yeats.

Yale University

Yale University offers courses on modern poetry and John Milton. Interested individuals can access these audio and video lectures from Yale's Open Courses platform. These courses are also available on YouTube and iTunes.

• Modern Poetry

Open University

Open University gives students the opportunity to learn about poetry online for free. Read through lessons on form or discussions on what poetry is from the OU website, or download an entire lesson as an eBook.

• Approaching Poetry
• What is Poetry?
• The Poetry of Sorley MacLean
• Form and Uses of Language

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MIT's OpenCourseWare offers a variety of online poetry courses for free. Choose from literary interpretation courses or specific areas of study - like gender and lyric - or learn about major poets and their influences on the literary world.

• Writing and Reading Poems
• Digital Poetry
• Literary Interpretation: Beyond the Limits of the Lyric
• Literary Interpretation: Interpreting Poetry
• Studies in Poetry: 'Does Poetry Matter'
• Studies in Poetry: Gender and Lyric -- Renaissance Men and Women Writing about Love
• Major Poets
• Studies in Poetry: From the Sonneteers to the Metaphysicals
• Poetry in Translation
• Studies in Poetry - British Poetry and the Sciences of the Mind
• Studies in Poetry: 'What's the Use of Beauty?'
• Studies in Poetry: 20th Century Irish Poetry: The Shadow of W. B. Yeats

Free Online Poetry Courses At a Glance

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Online programs available 1. grand canyon university, program options.

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