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.
9 courses available
What is a Short Story?What 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.
Keeley Street
Sat 17 Oct 2026Alexander Fairbairn-DixonFull fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00- Literature tasterDo 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: Nineteenth Century Novels
Curious 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.
Keeley Street
Wed 6 Jan 2027Sophie OxenhamFull fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Literature taster: poetry
Curious about reading poetry? Join us for this taster session to boost your confidence and whet your appetite for further learning and exploration!
Keeley Street
Wed 13 Jan 2027Sophie OxenhamFull fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Literature taster: contemporary fiction
Ever 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.Keeley Street
Thu 25 Mar 2027Patricia SweeneyFull fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Emigrants in Literature: Cather, Sebald and Hamid
In this online literature course we will explore how emigrants have been portrayed in literature over three centuries, in classic works by Willa Cather, W. G. Sebald and Mohsin Hamid.
Keeley Street
Tue 20 Apr 2027Lewis WardFull fee £189.00 Senior fee £151.00 Concession £123.00 - Great Works: Wilkie Collins: The Woman in White
Considered the birth of the ‘Sensation’ novel, Wilkie Collin’s The Woman in White (1860) continues to thrill us through vivid characters and compelling plot lines, while also raising important questions about identity - psychological, social, and legal - and power. We’ll be discussing extracts from the novel, alongside developing our understanding of its historical and literary contexts. We’ll also touch upon some of its screen afterlives.
Keeley Street
Wed 5 May 2027Sophie OxenhamFull fee £89.00 Senior fee £71.00 Concession £58.00 - Exploring literature: an introduction to prose and poetryThis 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.
Keeley Street
Thu 1 Oct 2026Kate WilkinsonFull fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - A Day with T.S. Eliot
Come and explore the Nobel Prize-winning poet, T. S. Eliot, in a stimulating group context where our focus will be on immersing ourselves in the language and contexts of his striking poetry.
Keeley Street
Sat 12 Dec 2026Suzannah V. Evans, Phyllis RichardsonFull fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00
Can't see a course you want?
Add this category to your waiting list to set up alerts and we will update you when new courses are released online.