News

Students talk poetry with Dame Carol Ann Duffy

Our English Literature students enjoyed a timely online poetry reading with Dame Carol Ann Duffy.

37 Year 13 students joined the reading with Dame Carol, the former Poet Laureate, who selected poems to read from a number of her publications and spoke about the creative process.

The session coincided with the students beginning their analysis of the poet’s Feminine Gospels and Dame Carol kindly fulfilled their request to read from and discuss poems from this 2002 collection. This gave the students a unique opportunity to hear Dame Carol discussing literature and feminist commitment.

The students also asked well-informed questions on topics ranging from Dame Carol’s influences to interpretations of her individual poems and their socio-political contexts.

Tutor Graeme Stables said: “There was obvious academic enthusiasm from the students, who relished engaging their Modern Times set text poet from the informal surroundings of her home. The students then studied the opening poems from Feminine Gospels via Microsoft Teams with me this week, having evidently benefited from that first-hand connection with Dame Carol.”

Barnsley Sixth Form College is committed to being actively involved in the social and cultural development of our community, raising aspirations and driving social mobility.

The reading was organised and hosted by the University of Lincoln on a YouTube broadcast.

Find out more about our English Literature A Level course.