Literature Courses in London
Explore our exciting range of Literature courses, from Literary History, to specialist courses in Fiction, Poetry and Drama. We offer introductory and in-depth courses to suit all levels of interest and experience, where you can revisit classic texts and discover new writers.
Study in-person or online from the comfort of home, with classes that allow you to participate in discussions with fellow adult students and share your passion for literature as part of a learning community. We offer daytime, evening and weekend courses, both short and long.
Our tutors are experts in their fields and experienced educators; many also teach in universities or share their expertise in the media. Tutors share their knowledge and passion for fiction, poetry and drama through presentations, readings, interactive discussion, analysis, and other activities.
Many students return to take more courses, telling us they enjoy being part of our City Lit literary community; others are inspired to progress onto university study.
Our popular courses often sell out quickly, so we invite you to browse and book your place now.
- The world of Bob DylanCourse start date: Thu 2 May 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Richard NilandThis class explores the work of Bob Dylan, examining his song writing, musical style, and persona in the context of American cultural, political, and musical history, exploring how Dylan engages with American culture through his absorption and reworking of multifarious aspects of both historical and modern Americana.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - Get together and readCourse start date: Thu 2 May 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Claire AllenEnjoy talking with other people about the things you have read? Want to share great stories, poems and drama? Come along and join the conversation. The group is led by a shared reading practitioner trained by The Reader Organisation. - Twenty-first Century Folklore: myth and magic in the global worldCourse start date: Thu 2 May 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Katie GossThis online course focuses on innovative short fiction from around the globe which reworks folkloric traditions to grapple with conditions of twenty-first century life. As well as engaging with the unique folkloric influences each text draws on, we’ll consider the complexities of the present that they are addressed to – and how the rising popularity of ghost stories, fairy tales, dark fables and surreal myths suggests a renewed fascination with the intrigues of the mysterious, monstrous and inexplicable.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £97.00 - Historical fiction: reimagining and rewritingCourse start date: Thu 2 May 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Kate WilkinsonWhat’s the unique appeal of historical fiction? Why do we read it, and what are we looking for? This course investigates historical fiction written in the twenty-first century and how it reimagines the past for us as contemporary readers. Reading novels and short stories set in the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, we’ll explore historical fiction’s strategies, challenges and pleasures: how it can bring unknown stories into view and rewrite what we think we know. Includes Francis Spufford's Golden Hill (2016), Emma Donoghue's The Woman who Gave Birth to Rabbits (2002) and Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet (2020).Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - Classic drama: Antigone, Measure for Measure, The Country WifeCourse start date: Mon 13 May 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Jenny StevensWe will read and discuss three classic plays: Sophocles’ Antigone, Shakespeare's Measure for Measure and William Wycherley’s The Country Wife. Focusing closely on structure, language and tone, we will consider how dramatists across time have explored themes such as sexual politics, family relationships and state power through their plays, as well as considering the social, cultural and historical contexts in which they were produced.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Reading BrexLit: three novelsCourse start date: Tue 14 May 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Kate WilkinsonThe 2016 referendum result was one of the most significant events in recent British history. How can novels, written in that moment, shed light on the run-up to the vote and its immediate aftermath?
On this course we’ll study three fascinating and powerful novels, by Ali Smith, Anthony Cartwright and Adam Thorpe, exploring their stories and the backdrop they present of Britain’s divisions and connections.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £64.00 - The detective in popular modern crime fictionCourse start date: Tue 14 May 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Christine HawkinsWhat sells crime novels? Does knowing about the detective's other life make readers appreciate or rate their detective skills more? Why does the figure of the male detective remain so dominant in the genre, especially given that many of the texts are by female authors? We will analyse and the discuss the development of the male detective figure in recent crime fiction, including 'A certain Justice' by P.D. James, 'In the Woods' by Tana French and 'Career of Evil' by Robert Galbraith.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00 - Ways into advanced literature: disruptors, transgressors and storytellersCourse start date: Wed 22 May 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Patricia SweeneyExplore the rewards of close reading analysis, focusing on fiction, drama and the literary essay. Read, analyse and debate works from the mid-twentieth century that challenged the status quo and entered into the debates of the time. Includes 'A Single Man' by Christopher Isherwood, 'A Delicate Balance' by Edward Albee and 'Slouching Towards Bethlehem' by Joan Didion.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £64.00 - Reading Shakespeare: a director's perspective - Twelfth Night and Two Gentlemen of VeronaCourse start date: Wed 22 May 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Laura BaggaleyTake a fresh look at Shakespeare, exploring selected plays in the company of an experienced theatre director. With performance in mind, we will examine the language of The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Twelfth Night,
and discuss how Shakespeare’s use of verse evolves over the course of his career.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00 - Contemporary women's fictionCourse start date: Wed 22 May 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Fiona McCullochDiscuss a selection of novels written by women in contemporary British society. Focusing on the 21st century, we consider the concerns of fiction in grappling with representing the now. We will make links between literary texts and social context to consider how fiction might be influenced by and influencing the real world beyond its covers. Texts include Bernardine Evaristo's Mr. Loverman (2013), Jenni Fagan's The Panopticon (2013) and Ali Smith's Hotel World (2002).
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £116.00 - Six poets: the 20th century female experienceCourse start date: Thu 30 May 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Woody RiverThrough the words of six female poets from different countries spanning a hundred years, we will explore what it meant to be a woman in the 20th Century. The poems we will read cover a diverse range of topics such as desire and sexuality, loneliness and race, gender and feminism. Includes poems by Charlotte Mew, Anna Akhmatova, Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska, Forugh Farrokhzad, Gwendolyn Brooks and Carol Ann Duffy.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £97.00 - The city and the myth: Venice in 20th & 21st century literatureCourse start date: Fri 31 May 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: David BarnesThe beautiful city of Venice has attracted writers as diverse as Marcel Proust and Thomas Mann, Ezra Pound and Jeanette Winterson. These writers eulogised Venice as a city of art and culture, praising its gorgeous Gothic palaces and shimmering waters. In this course we look behind the myth, exploring the fascinating and surprising stories behind these Venetian visions.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00
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