Introductory Literature Courses
Our introductory literature courses invite you to explore different genres across a range of periods. Whether you are interested in poetry, fiction, or drama, our introductory courses – online or in-person - will help you to develop your close reading skills, along with your knowledge, understanding and appreciation of some great works of literature.
- Literature taster
Course start date: Wed 9 Sep 2026 (and 3 other dates)Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Patricia SweeneyDo you want to explore how to go about understanding a poem? How to do a close reading of a work of fiction? Come and find out what makes a literature class at City Lit so special.
The course also presents an overview of our upcoming literature offering in fiction, poetry, drama and literary non-fiction.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Literature Taster: Shakespeare Course start date: Thu 10 Sep 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sophie OxenhamCurious about studying Shakespeare? Join us for this taster session in which we explore aspects of two of his plays: the tragedy, Hamlet and the comedy, As You Like It.
Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Literature taster: poetry Course start date: Wed 16 Sep 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sophie OxenhamCurious about reading poetry? Join us for this taster session to boost your confidence and whet your appetite for further learning and exploration!
Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Introduction to Global Literature Course start date: Sat 19 Sep 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rebecca JonesAre you curious about reading literature from across the world? Would you like to encounter some of the world’s majorliterary works, reading across cultures and national borders, and in translation? This in-college taster session will give you a flavour of what it’s like to study and explore what global literature is, reading excerpts from two recent works of global literature.
Full fee £39.00 Senior fee £31.00 Concession £25.00 - Exploring literature: an introduction to prose and poetry Course start date: Thu 1 Oct 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Kate WilkinsonThis course introduces you to a range of prose and poetry from the nineteenth century to the present. Learn about how poems work, both ‘on the page’ and as spoken words. Reading novels and short stories, we’ll explore characterisation, the social and historical contexts of the works and writers’ techniques. Come and discover what’s distinctive about different forms of literature.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - What is a Short Story? Course start date: Sat 17 Oct 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Alexander Fairbairn-DixonWhat is a short story? Come and discuss its characteristics, its length, design, mood and style. What distinguishes it from other kinds of short narrative? We’ll compare short stories to other forms, such as myths, legends, anecdotes, fabliaux, parables, fables, and ‘tales’. We’ll look at some of the greatest practitioners including Edgar Allan Poe, Katherine Mansfield, and O’ Henry.
Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - Literature taster: Nineteenth Century NovelsCourse start date: Wed 6 Jan 2027
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sophie OxenhamCurious about studying Literature and nineteenth century novels? Join us for this in-person taster session where we explore aspects of two nineteenth century novels - Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre.
Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Literature taster: contemporary fictionCourse start date: Thu 25 Mar 2027
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Patricia SweeneyEver wondered what studying a Literature course at City Lit is like? Tempted to try, but not ready to commit to a whole course? Try this taster session on contemporary fiction to boost your confidence and whet your appetite for further study!
Includes information on the Literature programme offering for term three, which runs from April to July 2027.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00
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