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Do you want
to write poetry - or better poetry? |
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James
Harpur
is an award-winning poet, editor, adjudicator and creative writing tutor.
He has led workshops throughout Ireland and the UK, including at the Arvon
foundation,
the UK’s premier creative writing
organization.
He has been a Visiting Writer on MA
Creative Writing courses at the University of Lancaster, NUI Galway and
the University of the West of England. He has held writing residencies at
the
Munster Literature Centre
and at Exeter Cathedral.
More...
Publications:
Poetry
A Vision of Comets,
Anvil Press Poetry, London, 1993
The Monk’s Dream,
Anvil Press Poetry, London, 1996
Oracle Bones,
Anvil Press Poetry, London, 2001
The Dark Age,
Anvil Press Poetry, London, 2007
Translation
Fortune’s Prisoner: The poems of Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy,
Anvil Press Poetry, London, 2007
Non-fiction
Love Burning in the Soul: the Story of the Christian Mystics,
Shambhala, Boston, 2005
Selected anthologies
The Best of Irish Poetry 2009
(Southword Editions, 2009)
Staying Alive (Bloodaxe, 2002)
Ireland’s Love Poems (Kyle
Cathie, 2000)
The New Exeter Book of Riddles
(Enitharmon, 2002)
The Forward Book of Poetry
(Faber, 2001)
Voices in the Gallery (Tate
Publishing 1986)
Awards
Michael Hartnett Award 2009
Arts Council of Ireland Literary Bursary 2008
Cork Arts Literary Bursary 2007
Hawthornden Fellowship 1999
Society of Authors Award 1997
British National Poetry Competition 1996
Eric Gregory Award 1986
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The Writeaway Online Poetry Courses
offer answers, insights, practice and practical guidance to writers at all levels.
Each course takes place over six weeks and is tutored by James Harpur.
How do the courses work? You will be emailed the week's reading/study and/or exercise, and offered
personal tutoring in reply to your responses, by email or phone.
Contact James:
Email jwbharpur@iolfree.ie
There are six different courses available:
1 The Nuts
and Bolts of Poems
2
Forms
of Poetry
3 Inspiration
4 Poetry Appreciation for Beginners
5 Poetry Gym |
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The Nuts and Bolts of Poems ~ Six weeks,
€150
More details and how to book
What makes a poem a poem? Is it rhyme, rhythm, shape - or something more
mysterious? James takes you through different elements of poetic
technique, describing their purpose and illustrating them with examples
from past and contemporary poetry. Find examples of your own or have a go
at practising the techniques discussed.
Inspiration
~ Six weeks, €150 More
details and how to book
The best work of the best poets usually concentrates on universal themes,
such as death or nature. This six-week course will take a look at some of
the most common and profound poetic topics and will show, with examples,
how they can be explored in different ways.
This is a course for poets who want to expand their thematic horizons or
who might be stuck in a groove and want fresh ideas on how to approach
universal themes.
Forms
of Poetry ~ Six weeks, €150
More details and how to book
Most poets at some point try their hands at formal verse, whether haiku,
sonnets or ballads. This course explores some of the most common poetry
forms showing how their restrictions and freedoms provide an endless
source of fascination. We will analyse examples of different forms and how
they work. This course suits poets who enjoy experimenting with formally
structured poetry.
Poetry appreciation for beginners
More details and how to book
1. Classic Poems ~~ Six weeks, €150
2.
Classic
Poets ~ Six weeks, €150
These two programmes are for poetry beginners. They are an introduction to
some of the great poems and poets of the past and present.
Poetry
Gym ~ Six weeks, €150
More details and how to book
Some writers thrive on the discipline of being given deadlines and
specific topics to write about. Every week for six weeks James will email
you a subject (or sometimes a choice of two) for you to get your teeth
into and he will then respond to what you have written.
This course suits writers who like to be pushed in different directions
and who enjoy the challenge of carrying out an exercise.
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‘I
attended James Harpur’s creative writing course at the Munster Literature
Centre in 2008. I found James to be an enlightened and most encouraging
tutor. The course allowed me to flesh out and hone enough poems to publish
a full collection entitled Diviner (Third Spires Press). I can thoroughly
recommend him to any prospective students.’
Eugene O Connell (Poet and Editor of Cork Literary Review)
‘James
knows what he’s talking about. It was reassuring to have so clear a voice
when he considered my work and as he worked with me on it. He made me
very aware of my own writing – made me look very closely at it. His
expertise was obvious as we sat, listened and discussed. His approach to
the critique of my poems was open, unintimidating and frank which is
exactly what any writer needs.’
Liz O’Donoghue (Poet, author of Train to Gorey, Arlen House)
More testimonials...
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