Masterclass on Momentum, Form and Creativity in Poetry

Presented as part of The Writer’s Process writers’ development program

This intimate online course with Felicity Plunkett is designed to boost and fuel experienced poets to extend and develop their practice. It will focus on the interplay of reading, writing and editing poetry. Our community of reading writers will explore a range of poetry, focusing on aspects of form, craft and practice including exploration of a diverse array of forms and styles of poetry and writers’ and neuroscientists’ suggestions for creativity and momentum, drawing on research, practice and Felicity’s experience as a poet, critic and editor.  

Each writer will be encouraged to share drafted work in response to the readings and short set writing exercises, and to develop a range of new work and ideas. Guided by Felicity, there will be close discussion of set and drafted poems by the group, both in and beyond the workshops. In the final three weeks each participant will be given an hour of workshop time with the class, to workshop a poem or suite of up to five pages. Each poet will be free to direct their workshop to focus on what is most enabling and important to their practice. 

This course will be taught by Zoom over a ten-week period, in two-hour blocks from 4-6pm on an agreed weekday. The course will commence in the week of 28 February, 2022.

In the first seven weeks, each class will consist of discussion of the set texts (to be posted on our WetInk platform) and workshopping exercises, set in response to the group’s interests and questions. Discussion can extend beyond the weekly meetings on this platform, where Felicity will also share recent reading and opportunities for poetry submissions. 

The course will also feature a one-hour online Q&A session with Indian poet, dancer and novelist Tishani Doshi and two one-on-one editorial conversations with Toby Fitch, Poetry Editor of Overland, to talk about your current work.

Each week, there will be the opportunity to extend the class for an additional half hour. This might be to continue workshopping, or to allow discussion among the group. 

There will be up to eight 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 $1495. Payment terms are negotiable if you cannot pay the whole fee upfront. Feel free to call 02 4782 5674 or email amy@varuna.com.au to discuss your application.

Applications close 20 January, 2022.

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.

Toby Fitch

Tishani Doshi