The Craft of Poetry with Felicity Plunkett
Applications for this program have now closed.
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Led by award-winning poet, teacher, critic and editor Felicity Plunkett, this intimate online course focuses on reading, writing and editing poetry.
You will be in a group with Felicity and five other poets, and together you’ll be encouraged to draft and share new work in response to weekly readings and writing exercises, focusing on aspects including line movement, metaphor and form.
In the final three weeks each poet will be allocated an hour of class time. You will be asked to produce a poem or suite of up to five pages to share with the group. Constructive and thoughtful in-class feedback will be provided by the other poets in the group and guided by Felicity.
There will also be a one-hour online Q&A session with another established poet.
Think of The Craft of Poetry as an extended masterclass. Or perhaps like a semester of a Masters in Creative Writing, but with less theory and more practice.
There will be six participants in this class.
How to Apply
Entry to this course is by application. Writers will be selected based on the creative potential of their work, commitment to craft, openness to collaborating with your peers, and the balance in the group.
Course fees are $1395, with a 10% discount for Varuna alumni. Payment terms are negotiable if you cannot pay the whole fee upfront. Feel free to call 02 4782 5674 to discuss your application.
Applications close 15 February.
Dates and Course Format
The Writer’s Process: The Craft of Poetry will begin in the week of 15 March, 2021 and will be taught online over a ten-week period in two-hour blocks from 4-6pm on an agreed weekday. You will be using the writing platform WetInk to share your work and engage in extended discussion.
Week 1. Introduction
Week 2. On Breakage: line breaks
Week 3. On Form: form and its discontents
Week 4. On Bridges: metaphor
Week 5. On Bones: narrative and history
Week 6. On Suite: the long poem
Week 7. On Edge: where poetry meets prose. Q&A session.
Week 8. Guided Workshops
Week 9. Guided Workshops
Week 10. Guided Workshops
About Felicity
Felicity Plunkett is an award-winning poet and critic. She is the author of A Kinder Sea (UQP), Vanishing Point (UQP) and the chapbook Seastrands (Vagabond) and editor of Thirty Australian Poets (UQP). She is a widely-published writer of reviews, essays and the occasional short story, and served as the Poetry Editor with University of Queensland Press for ten years. She has a PhD from the University of Sydney, and was awarded an Excellence in Teaching Award during her years as a university lecturer at the University of Sydney, University of Queensland and University of New England. She has been Chief Examiner of NSW’s HSC English Extension course for five years, and now works as a mentor with both students and teachers.