Welcome to The Body In Poetry, an online poetry course with Julie Irigray.
Whether it is changing, (un)tamed or suffering, the body plays a greater role in our lives than we want to admit. Many people have a complicated relationship with their bodies, and social constructs around beauty standards or perceptions of femininity and masculinity influence us unconsciously. In this course, we will discuss and write about a wide range of bodily experiences: from puberty to aging, from injury to pregnancy, from sexuality to illness, you will read inspiring poems that will nourish your own writing.
Julie Irigaray is a French Basque writer based in Birmingham. Her pamphlet Whalers, Witches and Gauchos was published by Nine Pens (2021) and her poetry has been featured on BBC Radio 4. Her poems, articles and translations have appeared in over sixty publications (The Rialto, Ambit, Magma) and her poems have won or been finalists in nineteen poetry competitions, including The Bridport Poetry Prize 2024. She works as a creative writing tutor at City Lit and the Midlands Arts Centre.
Feedback from Julie's last session for EWS was highly positive, including the following: 'I am usually not one to choose the highest scores across the board, but I was really impressed by the tutor, the diverse examples of writing (with many more to read later), the exercises and the 'spirit' and depth of our discussions. Thank you, Julie and EWS.'
NB the time is Central European Time and so this is 6-8pm GMT.
