Organised by The Guardian
Discover the joys of brevity in this masterclass with poet Ella Frears that will enlighten you to the elements that make up brilliant poems.
There is something undeniably satisfying about a short poem. Virtually bitesize, but with the weight and nourishment of a whole poetic meal, short poems can break your heart, make you laugh, run chills down your spine, or do all of those things at once.
If you’re curious about the craft of poetry and want to explore the creative world of miniature works, this class with poet Ella Frears will invite you to get playful in an encouraging and inspiring virtual environment.
Looking in detail at a variety of poems, you will be encouraged to think about everything that makes a poem come alive - including titles, structure, line breaks, beginnings and endings - and how these elements can differ in shorter form poems.
Through a series of low-pressure but highly impactful exercises, you will begin to write your own short poems and the end of the class you will have at least three poetry drafts, and the confidence and skills to continue working on them in your own time. Suitable for absolutely anyone, you will learn how to make more informed choices in your writing, and to think carefully about word selection, no matter your skill level or experience.
This course is for …
- Writers of all genres and forms who want to hone their writing craft
- Anyone who wants to explore writing poetry, no matter their level of experience
Course content
- What differentiates the short poem from longer ones (excluding the obvious!)
- Choosing titles
- Line breaks, and what they can communicate
- Poetic form
- First - and last - lines
- The je ne sais quoi
Tutor profile
Ella Frears’s collection Shine, Darling (Offord Road Books, 2020) was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection and the T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry. Ella is a trustee and editor for Magma poetry magazine and has been poet in residence for Tate Britain, the National Trust, Royal Holloway University physics department, and the John Hansard Gallery, among others. Ella’s poems about the St Ives modernists are currently on show at Tate St Ives. She was recently named the first ever poet in residence for the Dartington Trust gardens.
Course Details
- Date: Thursday 6 July 2023
- Time: 6pm–8.30pm BST
A recording for this masterclass will not be available so we invite you to join at the time and date listed.
This masterclass is available globally. If you are joining us from outside the United Kingdom, please use this time zone converter to check your local live streaming time.
6pm BST | 7pm CEST | 10am PDT | 1pm EDT
You will be sent a link to the webinar 24 hours and 30 minutes before the start time. Please email masterclasses@theguardian.com if you do not receive the access link 24 hours before the scheduled start time.
We aim to make all Guardian Masterclasses accessible to all. If you require any adjustments to enable your participation in this course, please get in touch with us at masterclasses@theguardian.com.
This event will be hosted on a third-party live streaming platform Zoom, please refer to their privacy policy and terms and conditions before purchasing a ticket to the class.
Once a purchase is complete we will not be able to refund you where you do not attend or if you cancel your event booking. Please see our terms and conditions for more information on our refund policy.