WEA courses

Enhance your well-being through writing with our Creative Writing for Wellbeing course. Learn techniques for using creative writing as a tool for self-expression and emotional healing. Ideal for individuals looking to improve their mental health through writing.

Come and try your hand at calligraphy, you do not need to be an artist to enjoy modern Calligraphy. The aim of the course is to give a solid grounding exploring different aspects of this fascinating craft. Working with easily available equipment and simple techniques.

Enhance your creative writing skills with our Creative Writing for Intermediate Learners course. Learn techniques for writing fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction. Ideal for writers with some experience looking to refine their craft.

During this course we will explore the course of British Nature writing from the late nineteenth century until the early years of the twenty-first century. Our writers will include W.H. Hudson, Kenneth Grahame, Richard Mabey, Mark Cocker, Roger Deakin, Robert Macfarlane, Nan Shephard, Kathleen Jamie and a host of others. We will discover how the concerns and agendas of British Nature Writing have evolved over time towards the present and the rise of the Deep Ecology Movement and its writings. There will be ample scope for discussion and close reading of the chosen texts, and opportunity to analyse what, in some instances are, controversial ideas.

Literature: Writers of the Second World War is designed to introduce individuals to the literature that depicts the experiences and impact of the Second World War. This course covers key authors and works from the period, exploring their themes, contexts, and significance in literary history. Participants will read and analyse selected texts, learning about the historical and cultural backgrounds that influenced these works. The course includes lectures, discussions, and reading assignments that encourage critical thinking and deeper understanding of Second World War literature. By the end of the course, participants will have a comprehensive knowledge of the literature of the Second World War and its significance in the broader context of literary history. This course is ideal for literature enthusiasts and history buffs looking to explore the literature of the Second World War.

This course, composed of new texts, builds on similar courses on German literature given by Stephen Smith. Four novels and one poet will be analysed and placed in context over the 10 weeks’ duration of the course. The first text, The Passenger by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz, was actually written in 1938, but having recently been rediscovered, it is too good not to include. We will begin with this novel and then explore: Vertigo - WG Sebald. Lost - Hans Ulrich Treichel. Kairos - Jenny Erpenbeck. The Poetry of Durs Grunbein. The course will offer great scope for discussion of excellent texts, which are intellectually, imaginatively and emotional stimulating.

Aristophanes (c.450-388 BCE) writing in the Fifth Century is regarded as the key author in Ancient Greek comedy. His plays will be studied, read and workshopped. We shall look at how his plays might be put on, and staged today. His plays often have structures similar to a sketch show and he uses many comic devices still popular with comedians today. His plays are a little rude though (sometimes very rude). We shall look at how he creates his comic characters and situations. We shall discuss the issues that he wants to write about and consider if these are still relevant to a modern audience trying to make sense of the political and social world today. Over ten weeks, two to three plays will be discussed and workshopped to appreciate the various theatrical devices that Aristophanes often uses.

We will cover all forms of writing – fiction, including novels, short stories and plays, also poetry, autobiography and memoirs. The aim is to help develop and channel your writing ability, whether as a hobby or for publication. We will discuss many aspects of writing, foster the use of imagination, and read your work in a constructive and friendly setting. The emphasis is on individual development. This course is suitable for improvers and beginners. All you need is an interest in developing and enjoying your writing skills.

Practice techniques for creating short stories, true or untrue in fortnightly sessions. We'll apply the principles of short fiction to our writing, with the focus this term on thinking about how point-of-view impacts on structure. There will be writing exercises, discussions, an optional weekly homework task and feedback. Guidance on feedback techniques will be provided. The course content has flexibility, and will be adapted to suit the needs of the group. Suitable for improvers. This course uses the same content as the other fortnightly class, Creative Writing: Structure & Point of View Q00012330, the Thursday evening course, Structure & Point-of-View, and the Friday morning course, Creative Writing: Structure & Point-of-View, therefore you need only enrol on to one of them.

Practice techniques for creating short stories, true or untrue. We'll apply the principles of short fiction to our writing, with the focus this term on thinking about how point-of-view impacts on structure. There will be writing exercises, discussions, an optional weekly homework task and feedback. Guidance on feedback techniques will be provided. The course content has flexibility, and will be adapted to suit the needs of the group. Suitable for improvers. This course uses the same content as the Friday morning course, Creative Writing: Point-of-View, and the Thursday morning fortnightly course, Creative Writing: Point-of-View, therefore you need only enrol on to one of them.