Writing Poetry for Mental Health
If you would like to write poetry, but not sure how, then why not follow our Poetry Writing course. It's FREE !!
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to our Poetry Writing course. It is aimed at anyone, anywhere struggling with mental health issues and wanting to use words and poetic verse for the first time to help them express how they think and feel. You can also use this course if you already write poetry but want a little more information and guidance on how to compose and structure your poems more effectively, and to learn a few more poetic techniques to help you write even better poetry.
"Why is poetry so very good for people with mental health challenges? Because it helps them see the world in their own way, and in a way that makes sense to them.."
Our course is presented in ten, easy-to-follow modules. At the end of every module there are a few optional research, study, and poetry writing tasks.
The important thing with writing poetry for mental health though, is to look inward
at yourself, and be honest
with yourself. Writing poetry can be really great therapy, and a wonderful healing agent; helping you focus and develop an
inner strength through which you can then more easily meet your
external pressures, anxieties and crisis. The objective with this course is to help you focus on expressing yourself through words, in whatever way or form you want, and support you while you are doing so, but we don't ever want you to feel forced to write about anything you are not ready to write about, or things you don't want to write about. Yes, this course will teach you a little about what a poem is, and how to write a good poem, but always remember;
YOU are the most important thing,
not your poem, so don't ever feel pressurized about writing, or that your poem isn't good enough; there is no right or wrong, good or bad and, if you do share your poems with us, your work will never be criticized.
We just want to inspire you to write, thereby helping you to heal.
COURSE OUTLINE
Within this course we are going to look at a few basic styles of poetry, the language of poetry, how words are used and how they affect the reader, and examine the various techniques and devices used in the creation of a poem; by using the right words a good poem can affect the senses and create significant images in the mind. We will also look a little bit at forms and structures, and how they are related, and examine how understanding and employing the art of imagery and imagination can help you significantly affect the mood, movement and eventual outcome and meaning of a poem. We'll also look at the use of stylistic language to affect rhythm and mood, and examine how to use various poetic tools to pull a poem together to create clarity and meaning. On top of this, you’ll learn about the differences between rhythm and metre - used in poetry to affect sound and meaning but are often confused - and the different ways they can be used. We will also look at the main types of rhyming, and how practising using rhymes can develop you as a poet. And lastly, we'll examine how, by personal word choice, imagery, line length, style, structure, rhythm and tone, you can create 'your own voice' within your own work.
If that all sounds complicated don't worry, it isn't; just go through the course step by step, in your own time, and it will all fall into place.
Poetry is no longer elitist and high-brow, and only written (and read) by intellectuals; instead poetry is, and should always be, for everyone and, as we mentioned earlier, a perfect catalyst to help you through your mental health challenges and to support you as you heal.
Ready to get started? Click on the module below:
- MODULE 1: What is Poetry? What is a Poet? Thinking and Living as a Poet.
- MODULE 2: Finding the Right Words, and Listening to the 'Sound' of your Words
- MODULE 3: Understanding Form and the Relationship Between Form and Structure
- MODULE 4: Understanding Figurative Language and Imagery
- MODULE 5: Additional Language Devices that Enhance the Rhythm and Mood of a Poem
- MODULE 6: Metre And Rhythm; The Heart and Heartbeat of Every Piece of Poetry
- MODULE 7: The Rise and Fall, and Rise Again of Rhyme
- MODULE 8: Finding Your Voice and Making Your Poetry, Your Own.
- MODULE 9: Improving your Poetry and Developing as a Poet
- MODULE 10: Publishing Your Work
COURSE ACCREDITED BY THE POET
Recognised for its in-depth interviews, and for producing some of the largest international anthologies of poetry on particular themes and topics ever published, THE POET is devoted to showcasing poets and publishing amazing poetry from around the world.
