Writing from Art: Poetry Inspired by Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art

Ekphrasis is a literary device in which a visual work of art is described in detail. On this 4-week course, you’ll practice ekphrasis in a broader fashion, by drawing out particular themes in the artwork on display at the award-winning Goldsmiths’ Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA), using the gallery's exhibitions as a springboard for creating your own original verse, under the guidance of poet and lecturer Dr Jocelyn Page.

This is a 4 week in-person course, with weekly sessions taking place on Wednesdays from 6.30pm-9.00pm at Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art, St James's, London SE14 6AD.

Find out more about the course .

This course is suitable for complete beginners, aspiring poets and experienced writers alike. You’ll receive practical guidance on how to work with the art in the CCA and perform close readings of selected poems by published authors before creating your own draft poems. You’ll combine the visual and written to interrogate your artistic imagination, with a focus on improving your writing technique.

Weekly sessions will include the following: poetic and other readings on selected themes, some biographical background on the artists, discussions on the artworks’ context, and a pedagogical introduction to the formal aspects of poetry. You’ll spend time freewriting in the gallery, with the opportunity to share your early drafts with the group, later offering some critical analysis in your role as first reader, receiving and providing constructive feedback in a mutually supportive working group.

You’ll be encouraged to finish your work at home in between classes, selecting one poem to share in a final showcase at the end of the course. You’ll also be given access to a group Google Doc with suggested further reading, questions, and practical advice on competitions, submissions, and other literary opportunities.

Over the 4-weeks, close attention will be paid to how poetry and art can work together, the history and evolution of ekphrasis, and the conventions surrounding credit and acknowledgement in the ekphrastic tradition. A wide selection of poetry will ensure a commitment to diversity of culture and voice.

Learning outcomes

• Immerse yourself in art at the Goldsmiths’ Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) and create ekphrastic poetry, or writing from art.
• Enhance your reading and writing skills, gaining a sense of the meaningful relationship between art and poetry about art, learning how to write a poem.
• Hone your analytical skills, developing a skillset, with associated language appropriate for responding to texts and unpacking them in terms of form, sound, imagery, and poetic technique.
• Explore your own imagination and past for emotional content and stories to connect with the art in the CCA.
• Create a set of workshopping tools with which to write poetry, as well as edit, revise, and polish your own work.
• Develop your critical thinking skills by practising how to articulate your feedback in relation to others’ work, as well as how to apply others’ suggestions to your own writing.
• Create several drafts ready to submit to journals, developed and polished through exercises, prompts and workshopping in and outside of course sessions.
• Present and share your work, an invaluable tool in terms of hearing the sound of your own work, feeling the breath of the line breaks, and understanding readers’ responses.
• Increase your commercial awareness by gaining an insight into the poetry publishing world. Learn about poetry magazines, journals, and contests, as well as how best to present your work to get it into print
• Cultivate literary skills transferrable to other fields and to future writing projects

You’ll receive a digital certificate of completion if you attend 80% of the course.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art, Saint James's, London, United Kingdom