welcome

from Coffee-House Poetry organiser, Anne-Marie Fyfe

Take off over the coming six spring weeks into an airy world of birdsong, tail-feathers, swooping & soaring (& into how our avian alter egos’ existences can be a metaphor for so many emotions & insights, myths & metamorphoses). Immerse yourself in an aviary of the imagination, a poetic bird-land, indulge in the art of bird-ology & discover the thinkers, painters, poets & prose writers who’ve long been captivated by our feathered friends.

Intrigued? Ornithologically inspired? Starts Sunday 30th March (see right, & classes page).

Meanwhile Between the Lines, our popular & inspirational creative-&-critical weekly workshop, is taking a break, with next new 7-wk course starting mid-May (see classes page). But open for applications now as – with limited group numbers – early booking’s essential & the course is always oversubscribed!

classes & courses

booking now

  • sun 30 mar—sat 7 jun, £280: the avian eye: 7-wk creative-writing workshop series with anne-marie fyfe
  • fri 16 may—sat 5 jul, £280: between the lines: 7-wk masterclass with cahal dallat

current
  • sun 2 mar—sat 3 may: beyond the blue: 7-wk creative-writing workshop series with anne-marie fyfe
  • fri 21 feb—sat 12 apr: between the lines: 7-wk masterclass with cahal dallat
  • sun 26 jan—sat 29 mar: nocturne: 7-wk creative-writing workshop series with anne-marie fyfe

recent
  • sun 12 jan—sat 15 mar: home truth: architecture & longing: 7-wk creative-writing workshop series with anne-marie fyfe
  • fri 10 jan—sat 1 mar: between the lines: 7-wk masterclass with cahal dallat

2024
  • sun 20 oct—sat 14 dec: taking a walk: the poetry of footfall: 7-wk creative-writing workshop series with anne-marie fyfe
  • sun 20 oct—sat 14 dec: beyond the blue: 7-wk creative-writing workshop series with anne-marie fyfe
  • fri 25 oct—sat 14 dec: between the lines: 7-wk masterclass with cahal dallat
  • sun 22 sep—sat 23 nov: root & branch: the enchantment of trees: 7-wk creative-writing workshop series with anne-marie fyfe
  • sun 8 sep—sat 2 nov: beyond the blue: 7-wk creative-writing workshop series with anne-marie fyfe
  • fri 6 sep—sat 26 oct: between the lines: 7-wk masterclass with cahal dallat
  • sun 8 sep, 2.30-5pm: poetry in the pavements: explore the young wb yeats’s west-london world with cahal dallat
  • sun 23 jun—sat 24 aug: solitary spaces: 9-wk creative-writing workshop series on solitude, with anne-marie fyfe
  • sun 16 jun, 2.30-5pm: land of heart’s desire: wb yeats literary walk with cahal dallat
  • sun 26 may—sat 27 jul: nocturne, 9-wk creative-writing workshop series with anne-marie fyfe
  • fri 24 may—sat 13 jul: between the lines – focus on form: 7-wk masterclass with cahal dallat
  • sun 21 apr—sat 29 jun: root & branch: the enchantment of trees: 9-wk creative-writing workshop series anne-marie fyfe
  • sun 7 apr—sat 15 jun: the avian eye: 9-wk creative-writing workshop series with anne-marie fyfe

See full details of classes and workshops

art: on the point, andrea kowch

next event

sun 30 mar—sat 7 jun, £280: the avian eye: 7-wk creative-writing workshop series with anne-marie fyfe

The strange charm of the avian eye: ever been transfixed by that steady gaze, wondered why the ancients believed birds symbolised the soul, why legend insisted on transforming humans into flighted things? Perhaps you recall the simple wonder of a bird’s nest accidentally discovered, of watching flapping wings take off, of tracking bird footprints in wet sand?

Take wing on this intensely focused flight into birdworld mystery & myth, image & imagination – from archaeopteryx to Aristophanes to Anne Carson & Alice Oswald – where we’ll explore, from every altitude & angle, how these feathered ‘familiars’ hover over the psyche, roost in the atavistic self, enchant the auditory airscape with their irrepressible music & much more!

Your Avian Eye thoughts & theories, images, inspirations & tasks will arrive in your inbox weekly for six weeks, ending with a (week seven) module on ways to edit your writing. Two weeks later there’s a written appraisal of your submitted excerpt, followed by an end-of-course Zoom reading!

Numbers limited, email coffpoetry@aol.com to apply, & booking link will be forwarded if place available.

#poetrymondays

  • mon 10 mar, 8pm: talking transatlantic with mark doty: reading & in-conversation (free online event)

See full details of poetry readings

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