Creative Writing

The Poetry Masterclass gathered a small group of students for a day of reading poetry and creative writing, with special emphasis on the function of imagery in poetic works. The students spent the morning session reading a selection of praise poems from African, Aztec and other world traditions, analysing them for their use of descriptive and comparative language. The group then headed out into the chilly February air for a writing exercise in observation and description in nearby Gordon Square, and returned to the classroom to distill their field notes into short, imagistic poems. Students read their works and received commentary and feedback from the tutor and their peers. The afternoon session focused on the concept of metaphorical reasoning and entailed close textual analysis of a wide range of poems from ancient and contemporary sources. Using these poems as a springboard, students experimented with image as a structural device through crafting their own short pieces. Once again, students shared their work and received supportive and enthusiastic response from the group. The day concluded with a general discussion on imagery in poetry, and some advice for the young writers on how to pursue creative writing practice in their everyday lives.

You can book for our next Poetry Masterclass here.

Sonia Gomez, English Tutor