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DATES: 14th September - 16th November 2025 (every Sunday, 10:30 - 13:00)

Eligibility is dependent on being able to attend at least 90% of the sessions. In applying for this course, you can confirm that you are able to commit to attending on the above dates.

LOCATION: M Shed (7 sessions) and St Paul’s Learning Centre (3 sessions)

PRICE: £150 (there are two bursary places at £100)

AIMED AT: Emerging+ AND Post-Emerging Poets

APPLICATIONS CLOSE: Sunday 17th August (20:00pm)

DESCRIPTION:

Raise the Bar’s 2025 Poets Development Course, with lead tutor Vanessa Kisuule, is open to poets in Bristol and the South West. 

The 10-week course will focus on writing, performance and professional skills, and is aimed at Emerging+ and Post-Emerging poets looking to take their career to the next level. Poets will attend weekly tutored sessions led by acclaimed poet Vanessa Kisuule, as well as career skill sessions with experienced visiting facilitators. An opportunity to meet other poets, engage in lively conversations and create new work in a friendly and professional environment.

As well as weekly writing workshops and opportunities for feedback on your work, the career skill sessions will include: considerations on the page and stage, constructing a live set, working in schools/education settings, applying for funding, working with organisational partners, diversifying your income as a writer/creative, curating a book and finding publication, and incorporating wellbeing and self-care into your practice.

There are 10 spaces available on the course. Poets will be selected on the strength of their application and personal statement, as well as an example of their work. Some spaces are reserved for Black and Global Majority poets, and writers from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds.

Poets on our 2025 cohort may also receive opportunities for further mentoring and professional development. 

Vanessa Kisuule:

KEY INFORMATION:

Raise the Bar’s courses and retreats are open to anyone over the age of 18 residing in South West England, defined as consisting of the counties of Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Applicants must be resident in the South West both at the time of application and throughout the duration of the course applied for. You must be able to attend the sessions in-person.

These courses are not designed for complete beginners and experience of writing poetry is required for all applications. There is no cast-iron definition of emerging+ and post-emerging poets, but the following lists may be useful:

An emerging+ poet:

• Will have less than 3 years experience as a writer/performer

• Will usually work mainly in the local area, and be seeking to expand their profile

• May regularly attend poetry workshops and courses, or perform unpaid at open mics or slam competitions

• May have minimal experience of being published in journals/magazines/competitions

• May have a pamphlet or debut book of poems published

• May have some experience performing paid support slots at poetry events

• Will consider poetry to be more than just a hobby. Will be actively working on their professional skills and seeking opportunities to advance to a post-emerging / mid-career level of career experience

A post-emerging / mid-career poet:

• Will have more than 3 years experience as a writer/performer, in a part-time capacity or as part of their profession

• Will usually make a significant chunk of their income from poetry-related work.

• May have significant experience of being published in journals/magazines/competitions

• May have at least one full-length poetry collection, album or body of work

• May have significant experience headlining events and being paid for their work, including outside of their town/city/region

• May have performed, or been published, internationally

• May be paid to judge competitions or sit on panels

• May be paid to edit or mentor other poets’ work

• May have work commissioned by organisations on a semi-regular basis

• Will still be seeking to further their professional skills in order to become an established poet with a full-time, or majority of their, income coming from writing/poetry-related work (including teaching, producing and facilitating).