Beginning Poetry

Three 90-minute workshops covering the skills every new poet needs

This course is currently full. Join the list to hear first when I run it again.

The last four runs of this series sold out, and places are limited to 15.

Is this for you?

If you've written some poems and aren't sure whether they're any good — or if you feel lost and at sea among poetry's many technical aspects, never clear on whether you're doing it "right" — then, yes! This series is for you..

That feeling is completely normal. I had it for years. These three classes are built to fix it.

"Three of my poems have been selected for an anthology. I'm quite shocked and very pleased that I just went for it and submitted. Your workshops were the start of any 'formal' learning for me, and I'm grateful for the input you gave me as I continue my poetic adventure." — L. A., UK, 2026

What the series does

Every poem needs three things: a shape on the page, a sound in the ear, and the power to make a reader feel something. Each class takes one of those and gives you a practical way to use it.

You won't just be told what a line break does. You'll write with it, in class, using a process I'll walk you through — so you're never left staring at a blank page.

Each class leaves you with:

Something of your own, written using the technique
A method you can take straight to your next poem
A clear idea of what to learn next

"Everything I was hoping for — and then some. I especially enjoyed the 'processes' you recommended as we took time to write. You made it fun, yet still richly thoughtful." — D. S., PA, 2026

The classes

All three run on Thursdays, 12:30–2:00pm ET (9:30–11am PT, 5:30–7pm UK).

Start with the Line — Thursday 10 September — $40
Beginning Rhyme — Thursday 24 September — $40
Get Going on Showing — Thursday 8 October — $40

Most people take all three. Book the full series — $100, saving $20.

What to expect

Live on Zoom, 12:30–2:00pm ET (9:30–11am PT, 5:30–7pm UK)
Limited to 15 people
Sharing your work is always optional — there is no critique, and nobody gets put on the spot
Can't attend live? Every class is recorded, and the recording is yours to keep indefinitely
No experience or preparation needed — just come ready to write

Your teacher: Brian Evans-Jones

I've been teaching poetry since 2005 — at three universities, in dozens of schools as a visiting Teaching Artist, and to hundreds of adults through my own workshops. I was Poet Laureate of Hampshire, UK, in 2012–13, and I won the Maureen Egen Award from Poets & Writers in 2017.

But it took me 14 years to get my first poem published, and 23 to win my first competition. For most of that time I felt the way you might be feeling now: overwhelmed by how much there was to learn, unsure whether anything I wrote was any good, and with no idea what to do next.

What changed it was good teaching. I studied with Charles Simic, David Morley, and others, and they gave me the skills and the confidence I'd been missing for two decades. These workshops are my way of passing some of that on — without the years of study it took me to get it.