earn how to write like a medieval with Fair Field artistic co-director Tom Chivers. This 10-week online course is run in association with The Poetry School. THIS COURSE IS NOW FULLY BOOKED.
From Game of Thrones to The Last Kingdom, the medieval age has never been so popular. Its rich literary tradition still speaks to us across the centuries, tackling subjects as diverse as dragon-slaying, courtly romance, social climbers and the ultimate quest for truth. If you know a wimple from a whale-road – or would like to – join poet, publisher and neo-medievalist Tom Chivers on a journey into the earliest poetry in English. Using as a starting point the visionary 14th century epic Piers Plowman – which Tom is currently adapting for a major site-specific performance in the summer – students will have the chance to explore Old and Middle English texts, both in the original and translation, generating re-tellings of the classic stories and new creative material in response. Refresh your word-hoard as we take a closer look at Beowulf, Chaucer, Gawain and Pearl, as well as modern adaptations by Seamus Heaney, Simon Armitage, Patience Agbabi and Barry MacSweeney. As well as ‘straight’ translation, we will draw on the experimental techniques of Caroline Bergvall, Steve Ely and Paul Kingsnorth, using invented dialect, cod language, collage and corrupt spelling to capture the strange, mesmerising slippage between the medieval world and our own.
5 fortnightly sessions over 10 weeks. No live chats. Suitable for UK & International students.
Start Date: May 9, 2017
Level: Open for all
Price: £104
