Poetry for Beginners and Emerging Poets
Christina Hennemann is a poet and writer. Her latest poetry book “Leafing” is a winner of the Cerasus Poetry Chapbook competition. Her pamphlet “Witch/Womb” was funded with an Agility Award from Arts Council Ireland. She received the Doyle Award and the Diana Woods Memorial Award in Creative Nonfiction, as well as a Mayo Artist Bursary. Her work appears in Poetry Ireland, Poetry Wales, Skylight 47, Southword, and elsewhere.
Start Date: 5th November, 2025
Duration: 6 Weeks
Price: €190
3 places remaining
Poetry for Beginners and Emerging Poets
Whether you’ve never written poetry or you already love and write in this genre, this course is accessible for beginners to intermediates.
Over the course of 6 weeks, I’ll guide you towards creating new poems and learning how to polish them until they shine. We’ll look at examples of poems and you’ll receive prompts and inspiration for your own writing, as well as tools for editing.
You will also have the opportunity to submit 1-2 poems each week to receive personalised feedback and line edits.
Course Outline:
Week 1: Introduction to poetry & starting to write
We will begin by looking at the genre of poetry and what defines it. How has poetry developed over time? We will read some traditional and modern poems and analyse them together. After that, you will receive a writing exercise to draft your first poem.
Week 2: Exploring form
In week 2, we will look at traditional forms of poetry as well as free verse. You will also respond to a writing prompt and apply your learnings by experimenting with form in your own work.
Week 3: Mastering line breaks
This week we will learn about the dos and don’ts of line breaks. Through close reading of example poems and writing exercises, you will gain confidence in getting your line breaks right — and get a feeling for when it’s a good idea to break the rules.
Week 4: Focusing on language and honing your voice
In week 4, we will zoom into the nitty gritty of a poem and examine each word, each metaphor, and hone our unique poetic voice — through close-reading of example poems and guided exercises to develop your own work.
Week 5: Develop your final draft & overview of self-editing techniques
This week we will polish our drafts by applying comprehensive self-editing techniques. You will learn what to do when you get stuck on a poem and how to break open a piece of work that just doesn’t feel right. By the end of this week, you’ll come away with poems that shine!
Week 6: Submissions & publishing demystified
For our last week we will explore publishing options and you will receive guidance on how and where to submit your work. You will also receive writing prompts to keep you going after the course wraps up.
Embark on Your Creative Odyssey
To find out more about how the online courses work, or if you have any further queries, you can check out our Frequently Asked Questions or email us at info@creativewriting.ie
Our cancellation/refund policy may be viewed here.