Writing the body in poetry

What is the course about?

How do contemporary poets write about puberty, pregnancy, or illness? How do social constructions around beauty standards and perceptions of femininity and masculinity influence the way we write about the body? In this course, we will be looking at the changing body, the (un)tamed body, the aching body, and many other themes to cover a wide range of bodily experiences.

This is a live online course. You will need:
- Internet connection. The classes work best with Chrome.
- A computer with microphone and camera is best (e.g. a PC/laptop/iMac/MacBook), or a tablet/iPad/smart phone/iPhone if you don't have a computer.
- Earphones/headphones/speakers.
We will contact you with joining instructions before your course starts.

What will we cover?

- Practical writing exercises will teach you to experiment with a variety of styles and forms to tell your unique story.
- Group discussions will illuminate particular issues related to craft and bodily experiences.
- Analysis of published poets will teach you how and why their work succeeds.
- Constructive feedback will encourage you to continue to write and improve your work.

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...

- Understand and discuss the strategies adopted by poets to talk about various bodily experiences.
- Appreciate how contemporary poets dare to write about themes that can be perceived as controversial or shameful.
- Consider the techniques used by the studied poets and apply them to your own poem.

What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?

This is an intermediate course. Students will need to be able to write in fluent English.

How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?

A mix of tutor instruction, pair work and interactive writing exercises and discussion of published texts.

All writing courses at City Lit will involve an element of workshop. This means that students will produce work which will be discussed in an open and constructive environment with the tutor and other students. The college operates a policy of constructive criticism, and all feedback on another student’s work by the tutor and other students should be delivered in that spirit.

For classes longer than one day, regular reading and writing exercises will be set for completion at home to set deadlines.

City Lit Writing endeavours to create a safe and welcoming space for all and we strongly support the use of content notes in our classes. This means that learners are encouraged to make their tutor and classmates aware in advance if any writing they wish to share contains material that may be deemed sensitive. If you are unsure about what might constitute sensitive content, please ask your tutor for further clarification and read our expectations for participating in writing courses at City Lit.

Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?

No extra costs - bring pen and paper.

When I've finished, what course can I do next?

Visit Writing > Poetry on our website to browse our full range of beginners', intermediate and advanced poetry writing classes.

All students are invited to join us at Late Lines, our regular performance night for City Lit writers. Students are also encouraged to submit their work to Between the Lines, our annual anthology of creative writing. For the latest news, courses and events, stay in touch with the Department on Facebook and Twitter.