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Quay Words Short Course: The Poets Journey with John Wedgwood Clarke

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Quay Words Short Course: The Poets Journey with John Wedgwood Clarke

The Poet’s Journey is Quay Words short course, running on 5 consecutive Saturday mornings this November (Saturday 2nd November – Saturday 30th November) 11am – 1pm at Exeter Custom House.

How do we get from A to B or * to @ in a poem? A poem is a journey that can move inward and outwards at the same time, speed like an arrow and grind forwards like a glacier all in the same stanza.

In these sessions we’ll be thinking about how different writers handle narrative journeys, how lines may have their own shape-changing stories as they channel meaning and images through them, and how metaphors shuttle us on strange journeys between things.

Alongside close readings focusing on formal matters and matters of material, we’ll find time to think about how poets make and authorise their journeys through a writing life by reading some of their reflections of their practices, and by reflecting on our own unique journey to the page and/or the stage. Expect a mix of reading, writing, and reflection in each of our sessions together.

About the author

John Wedgwood Clarke was born and raised in Cornwall. He trained as an actor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama before going on to study literature and complete a PhD in ‘Objectivist’ poetry at the University of York. He is an Associate Professor in Creative Writing at the University of Exeter.

His first collection Ghost Pot was described by Bernard O’Donoghue as a ‘masterpiece that rewards continual re-reading’. Clarke’s poetry often grows out of collaboration with scientists and artists, and is displayed in art galleries, museums and in the landscape.

His credits as television presenter and researcher for BBC Four include: Through the Lens of Larkin (2017) and Cornwall’s Red River (2021), which is based on his research project about a post-industrial river in West Cornwall. (Image credit: Lara Goodband)

Ticket Prices: £150/ £80 (concs)

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  • Date(s)

    • Sat 2nd Nov 2024 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
    • Sat 9th Nov 2024 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
    • Sat 16th Nov 2024 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
    • Sat 23rd Nov 2024 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
    • Sat 30th Nov 2024 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

  • Location

    Default Event Location Exeter Custom House
    46 The Quay
    Exeter
    EX2 4AN

  • Age Range

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