Masterclass: Free Verse

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Tutor

David Harsent

Date Friday January 17th 2025, 11:00-13:00 GMT

Location Online

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‘No vers is libre,’ T.S. Eliot wrote, ‘for the man who wants to do a good job.’ Leaving aside the exclusive noun, it’s clear that he was right: the music of poetry is, to some extent, what defines it: music and, not least in free verse, word choice. Free does not mean without rules.

If free verse doesn’t have rules that are self-defining, it does have rules that might, sometimes, have to be defended or, at least, explained. This masterclass with award-winning poet David Harsent will help you to examine and discover your own compositional methods, testing the rules of free verse as you go.

David will support you to closely read a variety of free verse examples and he will set engaging writing prompts to get you experimenting with this exciting and fundamental form. You will leave with a toolkit of choices and techniques to enrich your writing.

The Masterclass will be delivered via Zoom webinar, so you can take the session at your own pace, without the pressure of having your video or camera on. Sessions are also recorded so if you are unable to attend live, you will have access to the recording for a month afterwards.

Tutor

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David Harsent

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David Harsent has published thirteen collections of poetry. Legion won the Forward Prize. Night was triple short-listed…

Online: £40

Concessions: £20

As part of our effort to increase participation in the arts, half-price concessions are available for this course at checkout. There are a limited number of free subsidised places for those who cannot afford the concession price.

We are committed to making our Arvon at Home programme accessible to as many people as possible.

Across all of Arvon at Home

All sessions will have auto-generated captioning.
There is a Chat facility to ask any questions.

Masterclasses

A recording of the Masterclass will be available to view for one month after it is aired live, simply log in to your account on our website and you’ll find a link under the ‘Event Details’ tab in the ‘Video recording’ column (you may need to scroll right on your screen to see it), similarly, if any learning resources are available, another link will appear under the ‘Course Materials’ tab.
There is a Chat and Q & A facility to ask any questions.
Zoom webinar format (your  video and audio will remain off throughout & your name will not be visible to other participants, so it is a ‘relaxed’ event).
During sessions we will have a text version available via screen share (if you require these in advance of the session, please email arvonathome@arvon.org).

Online Writing Day

A recording of the workshops will be available to view for one month after it is aired live, simply log in to your account on our website and you’ll find a link under the ‘Event Details’ tab in the ‘Video recording’ column (you may need to scroll right on your screen to see it), similarly, if any learning resources are available, another link will appear under the ‘Course Materials’ tab.
There is a Chat and Q & A facility to ask any questions.
All sessions of the day are delivered live via Zoom meetings, with the option of cameras off or on.
During sessions we will have a text version available via screen share (if you require these in advance of the session, please email arvonathome@arvon.org).

How I Write

There is a chat and Q&A facility to ask any questions.
Zoom webinar format (your video and audio will remain off throughout, & your name will not be visible to other participants so it is a ‘relaxed’ event).
A recording will be available to view for one month after the event is aired live, simply log in to your account on our website and you’ll find a link under the ‘Event Details’ tab in the ‘Video recording’ column (you may need to scroll right on your screen to see it), similarly, if any learning resources are available, another link will appear under the ‘Course Materials’ tab.

Online Writing Weeks and Evening Courses

Courses are delivered by Zoom meeting, which means they are not recorded.
Courses have much smaller groups than Masterclasses and How I Write events, and are also more interactive with your fellow course participants and tutors, so cameras and audio are usually on (though both are completely optional). If you would prefer your camera and audio to be off at all times, it would be helpful to let your course host know this in advance.
We use Padlet as a landing page for all course materials, and to provide an optional platform for interaction with your tutors and fellow course participants. If you would like some more information about this, or if you have any anxiety about using this platform, please email arvonathome@arvon.org.

Subject to funding/permissions (please contact arvonathome@arvon.org for more details)

Recording of Writing Weeks and Evening Courses.
Downloadable transcripts.
BSL interpretation.
Live captioning.

If you have any access issues that we have not covered here, please contact us on access@arvon.org

See here for more access information.

"These zoom opportunities are really helping to open my world and keep me inspired to write."

— Masterclass participant

"Arvon at Home creates a model to participate in inspirational tutoring for writers, at a distance. The feeling of attending to my writing life in an excellent fashion, and still having a half-day for my work and caring responsibilities at home, felt like a good balance."

— Masterclass participant

"It was an absolutely brilliant session and very very useful. And it made me realise how much I’ve missed this kind of workshop because of having children and family that I can’t leave. Now we’re all in the same boat the online stuff is truly transformative."

— Masterclass participant