The Certificate in Creative Writing (Poetry) aims to develop a passionate enthusiasm for the art of poetry, such that a contribution is made to the development of poetry in the culture and lives of people living in Carlow town, its hinterland, and indeed in the southeast region. It aspires to achieve this through the development of competent practitioners and teachers, who have gained an insight into the range of poetry that is being written in both Ireland and further afield.

More importantly, the programme challenges its participants to demonstrate their belief in the art by devoting time and resources to acquiring the techniques and skills required to produce their own original body of work. In doing this, the course aims to make a contribution to the continuing tradition of English language poetry in Ireland.

Credits: 10 ECTS

Delivery: One evening per week (3-hours) for 12 weeks. See January 2024 Programme Schedule for further details.

Learners will cover the following areas:

• Contemporary poetry (examination of the poetic line, line-breaks, enjambment, diction, listing, imagery, and cultural context).
• Poems about family: grandparents, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters (focus on the basic unit of poetry: the line; line-break; enjambment; and some basic verse forms like couplets and quatrains.
• Poetic voice, and the importance of the aural to poetry as an art – the music of poetry.
• Poems about objects (seeing objects as concrete ways into thinking and talking about abstract concepts like memories, relationships, death, love, etc).
• Ekphrastic poetry, poetry responding to art; Learners will create their own ekphrastic poem in response to these works.
• Poems in translation
• Prose poetry, satire, the dramatic monologue, metaphor, simile and symbol
• The sonnet, the sestina and villanelle, for example.
• Writing for digital platforms
• Learning how to submit a number of their poems to magazines for consideration for publication in the course of this module.

Entry Requirements

Applications are assessed on a case by case basis in accordance with Carlow College Admission Guidelines and Procedures for Part-Time Learners

Fees

Course fees are €350 and payable at registration.

Applications

Applications for Certificates commencing in January open in late October. Full application details are available here