QUEER FORMS POETRY COURSE
“I want my poems to rot a little. That’s when the new life starts wriggling in.”
- Rata Gordon
What happens when a poem bends the rules of form, and self?
What opens when we stop trying to be good, clear, or linear?
What if writing could be a practice of becoming strange… and staying tender?
Queer Forms is a 4-week online poetry course for writers who want to play, undo, reimagine, and queer the very structures that poems, and people, are often asked to obey.
Over four live sessions, we’ll:
• Meet traditional forms (like the sonnet, haibun, or villanelle) and then… mischievously subvert them
• Try on hybrid forms and shape-shifting containers for our language and longings
• Write poems that resist closure and flirt with the liminal
• Gently interrogate what “queer” might mean for your writing, whether or not you identify under that umbrella
• Create new forms entirely — ones that hold your truth, your questions, your eroticism, your wild
Expect provocations, readings, generative prompts, and a lively online space where play and depth coexist.
WHO IT’S FOR
This course is open to all curious humans.
You don’t need to identify as queer, or even as a poet, just bring a willingness to experiment, feel, and get a little weird on the page.
WHEN & WHERE
4 Weeks online via Zoom
Thursdays, 21 Aug - 11 Sept 2025
10am - 12pm NZT
PRICING & SIGN-UP
• Standard Tier - $240 NZD (incl. GST)
Includes all 4 live 2-hour sessions, curated readings, juicy provocations, and access to a strange and nourishing poetic community.
• Expanded Tier – $380 NZD (incl. GST)
Includes everything above plus a 45-minute 1:1 session with me (Rata)
— for personal feedback, creative mentoring, or untangling your weird little metaphors.
• Access Tier – $160 NZD (incl. GST)
Includes everything in the Standard Tier. For those with limited financial resources or from structurally marginalised communities. No proof required. You are warmly welcome.
Koha places available. We work in trust.
Ready to join us?
Spots are limited — register early to save your place.
Payment details will be sent by email once you’ve filled out the form.
Got questions? Not sure which tier fits?
Wondering if this is for you, or need to chat about a koha place?
💌 Contact me here — I’d love to hear from you.
Let’s queer the form.
Let’s queer the self.
Let’s see what happens.