Teaching
I’m a regular tutor for City Lit and the Poetry School. Below are some courses I’ve taught in the past.
Previous Courses
‘The earthly runs to a stop…’: Endings as Practice & Subject (10-week online) for the Poetry School.
Consider ‘endings’ in all their forms – from the end of the line to the end of time.
In this five-session interactive course, we’ll begin to consider endings, moving from the ends of lines to the many endings in our own lives: of relationships, of journeys – and perhaps even of life on Earth.
Starting with the very smallest endings poets work with, we’ll first explore the art of the line break – when to let it flow, and when to pull the reader up short. Next, we’ll zoom out to workshop different ways of ending poems. Then, we’ll zoom out even further and look at the valedictory poems of collections. In session four, we’ll switch gears and begin to think about endings thematically. Finally, we’ll turn our theory and practice towards the apocalyptic and the visionary, wrangling with the biggest question of our times – the end of life on Earth.
Stealing, Copying and Arguing (one-day) for the Poetry School.
In this broad, fast-paced, participatory workshop about textual appropriation, collaboration and inspiration, we’ll experiment with ways to work with the work of others.
In stealing, the first part of the day, we’ll engage with the most innovative methods poets have used to incorporate other texts into their work – and then we’ll nick them. Next, we’ll use techniques such as homophonic translation, caricature, and structural modelling to explore the creative benefits of copying. Finally, in arguing, we’ll turn to the ways in which poets can engage with the ideas of other artists by disagreeing with them, recontextualising them, or taking them further. Throughout, we’ll consider the ethics of inspiration, exploring ideas of permission, scope, fair use, and justification. We’ll be inspired by writers such as David Melnick, Chrissy Williams, and Roger Robinson.
“The workshop was superb. Thank you for an evening that got me thinking in many new directions... Your energy and intelligence was a pleasure to experience.”
Editorial
I’m also available for editorial work, proofreading, and copy editing, as well as competition reading.
I’m a former associate editor of Poetry London, and have previously been editorial manager for the Poetry School, and a guest editor of Butcher’s Dog. I have been a reader for the Primers and Poetry London competitions, and twice been a judge for the Creative Future Awards.
For a number of years, I’ve also volunteered to provide feedback to entrants in the Koestler Awards for Arts in Criminal Justice.