About the course
Lines are the building blocks of poems. How can these fleeting, patterned, and often skimmable units of time contain worlds upon worlds in a matter of three, maybe four feet? Four, five words? In this workshop we’ll work with a method of line generation and line revision that thematizes Keatsian negative capability, and train our minds to sit with uncertainty and ambiguity, without an “irritable reaching after fact and reason.” If each line cannot “undo” the line it succeeds, then we’ll experiment with “eating” that line, absorbing it into its body in some way.
We’ll situate our understanding of this practice by reading various generations of poets who enact this kind of compression in their work. From the work of Keats to Hopkins, to more contemporary poets like Natalie Diaz, Jorie Graham, George Oppen, Carl Phillips, Jay Wright, and Frank Bidart. Exercises will be bespoke per session with ample writing time per session to practice the techniques theorised and discussed. At the end of these classes you will have a new understanding of ways to consider craft, erotics, and ambition. This class is suited for writers at an intermediate to advanced level.
About the tutor
Oluwaseun (Seun) Olayiwola is a poet, critic, choreographer and performer based in London. His creative and critical work has been published in: the Guardian, The Poetry Review, PN Review, Oxford Poetry, the Telegraph, the TLS and elsewhere. His choreographic work has been presented at the V&A, The Place, The Central School of Ballet, and Studio Voltaire. He’s been commissioned by Royal Society of Literature, Ledbury Poetry Festival, Southwark Council, and Studio 3 Arts. Seun has an MFA in Choreography from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, where he was a Fulbright Scholar in 2018-2019. He recently began lecturing in dance in the Kingston School of Art. Seun is a member of the inaugural Rose Choreographic School at Sadler’s Wells.
Who is it for?
All underrepresented writers—those who face barriers to opportunities due to mental health issues, physical health/disability, sensory impairment, learning disabilities, neurodivergencce, substance misuse, survivors, working class backgrounds, and those from the LGBTQIA+ community, Black, Asian, traveler, mixed heritage or other global majority backgrounds.
Dates & Time:
Tuesdays: 4, 11, 18 and 25 November
6-8 pm
This course takes place online via Zoom. Links will be sent seven days prior to the first session, and again the day of the first session.
Access:
You can see our full access commitments here. Please add any additional requirements when booking.
Cost:
£60 / £30 concessions
In order to make our resources stretch further, we have to subsidise some workshops with nominal fees well below most online courses. The more who book at full price, the more we’ll be able to offer.
Concessionary places are available for those on benefits, pensioners, unemployed/underemployed or on low wages. We do not ask for proof that you qualify.
If concessionary spaces aren’t displayed below, they are fully booked. We can add you to the waiting list if you e-mail info@creativefuture.org.uk.
Other workshops
We are offering as many workshops and as many places as our resources allow—they are heavily subsidised by our limited funding.
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