The poem itself lies beyond in an open space. Keep it open. Trust that the poem knows something you have yet to discover… The poem knows best.
- Mimi Khalvati
Image: Fresco showing a woman so-called Sappho holding writing implements (wax tablet and stylus), from Pompeii, Naples National Archaeological Museum. Carole Raddato, Flickr.
Note: this course includes the use of pre-recorded classes so that participation can take place at any time. You will be invited to join the Google Classroom for this particular course where you can access materials, assignments and stream activities.
In this 10-week course we will read, discuss and draw inspiration from a range of exciting work from British and Irish contemporary women poets. Each week you’ll be given in-depth learning resources, prompts to generate new poems, and constructive feedback on your own work.
Discover new work from contemporary women poets.
Learn about the skills, techniques and preoccupations of some of the best women poets writing in English today.
Create and share new poetry.
Develop your craft and confidence as part of a supportive online community.
Learn, write and participate at times that suit you.
This workshop for women and nonbinary folk, tutored by award-winning poet and creative writing lecturer Kate Potts, is designed for poets with some experience seeking a more in-depth creative engagement with contemporary poetry by women.
The workshop will take place in a flexible online workspace to facilitate access for a diverse cohort, including poets with work and caring commitments and poets living outside the UK. You’ll be able to access original video and reading materials, participate in group chats, and complete writing assignments in your own time, before sharing your work with others via weekly posting deadlines. Please note, this course was previously advertised as live Zoom sessions but will now take place in Google classroom without live classes.
We’ll be looking at poetry from the following collections (copies will be provided):
· Kim Moore, All the Men I Never Married
· Malika Booker, Pepper Seed
· Fiona Benson, Vertigo and Ghost
· Mimi Khalvati, Afterwardness
· Hannah Lowe, The Kids
· Fran Lock, Hyena!
· Warsan Shire, Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head
· Jane Clarke, A Change in the Air
· Liz Berry, The Republic of Motherhood
· Momtaza Mehri, Bad Diaspora Poems
Venue: Online (Google classroom)
Timing: 30th January 2025 to 3rd April 2025. Around 2 hours of writing/ study time each week.
Cost: £200 for 10 weeks. A deposit option of £95 is available to secure your space. The final balance will be due by 23rd January 2025. There are also two concession spaces available at £170.
See our cancellation policy here.
For more information, please email poet@katepotts.net.
Your Tutor: Kate Potts
Your tutor: Kate Potts
We are very lucky to have Kate Potts as tutor on this Wise Women Poetry Workshop. Kate is a poet and academic. She teaches for Middlesex University and The Poetry School, and freelances as a creative writing tutor, mentor and editor.
Kate's second collection, Feral (Bloodaxe, 2018) was a Poetry Book Society recommendation and a Telegraph poetry book of the month. Her debut pamphlet Whichever Music (tall-lighthouse, 2008) was a Poetry Book Society choice and was shortlisted for a Michael Marks Award. Her first first full-length collection was Pure Hustle (Bloodaxe, 2011).
Pretenders, a multi-voice work exploring imposter syndrome, will be published by Bloodaxe Books in spring 2025.
'To read Feral for a while is to find it bamboozling and beautiful, to want to read it for longer. Once that’s done, the only response is to consider it a masterpiece, and to feel that everyone who cares about language should read it.' - Jonathan Edwards on Feral, Poetry Wales
'Kate Potts is one of the foremost writers of our generation.' - Fiona Benson