Short courses

Summary

After a celebrated career as a poet and essayist, Kathleen Jamie was made Makar (or national poet) of Scotland in 2021. Philosophical and vividly resolute in her depiction of life as it is, Jamie often resists easy labelling as a Scottish poet, woman author or a nature writer, yet all of these themes come alive in her work. Her poems span multiple forms and registers in Scots and English to find deeper truths in everyday intimacies and encounters with the natural world. ‘At heart,’ Jamie has said, her work is ‘about the fascination of bringing one word, one sound, against another, of clarifying an image’.  

Join this course as a newcomer or enthusiast to take a closer look at five of her poems spanning her career from 1994 to the present day. Guided by our tutor you will explore together Jamie’s influences, inspirations and poetic craft and share the insights you find. 

Over a series of talks and collective close-readings, our expert tutor will explain: 

• key features of Kathleen Jamie’s work and her place within broader literary culture  
• how to analyse five notable poems in-depth  
• You will also have the chance to discuss and reflect on what you learn with other students and the tutor in seminars 

Choose this course if you want to learn: 

• more about poetry and the rewards of close reading 
• more about Kathleen Jamie, as well as contemporary Scottish literary culture and nature writing or ecopoetics.