A Complete Poetry Writing Course, with Five Free Modules
Quick answer: Writory Academy is a complete online poetry writing course covering fundamentals, forms, literary devices, rhyme and meter, emotion, revision and the poet's career. The first five modules and their practice quizzes are free and self-paced. Remaining modules unlock individually or as a full course; verified certificates require the corresponding Certificate Track.
Structured sections take you from your first line to publication-ready poems. The first five modules are free, self-paced, and written by working poets; unlock the rest when you are ready.
The full curriculum: 16 courses, 120 lessons, about 17 hours
- Poetry Fundamentals, 10 lessons: Start here. Everything a new poet needs, taught gently and honestly.
- Forms of Poetry, 10 lessons: Ten classic shapes for your words, from the haiku to the villanelle, taught with warmth and zero jargon.
- Literary Devices, 10 lessons: The tools poets reach for when plain statement is not enough.
- Writing Techniques, 11 lessons: The craft moves that turn a draft into a poem worth rereading.
- Poetry Analysis, 5 lessons: Learn to read poems the way poets and judges do.
- Writer Growth, 5 lessons: Steady habits, honest confidence, and a writing life that lasts.
- Publishing & Contests, 5 lessons: Your poems deserve readers. Here is how to send them out with confidence.
- Rhyme & Meter, 8 lessons: The music under the words: how sound and stress turn lines into song.
- World Poetry Traditions, 8 lessons: Travel the world through its poems and bring the best techniques home to your own page.
- Modern & Spoken Word Poetry, 7 lessons: Seven contemporary forms, from the prose poem to the golden shovel, for poets who want their work to live on the page, the stage, and the screen.
- Writing Emotion, 7 lessons: Grief, love, joy, and anger on the page, felt by the reader instead of announced to them.
- Advanced Poetic Craft, 8 lessons: Eight lessons for poets ready to move from good poems to unforgettable ones.
- Revision Mastery, 6 lessons: The first draft is the discovery. Revision is the art.
- Performing Your Poetry, 6 lessons: Your poems have a voice. Learn to give it a body, a breath, and a room full of listeners.
- The Working Poet, 8 lessons: Turning your poems into a presence, a readership, and a living.
- Story Craft, 6 lessons: How short stories actually work: shape, people, prose, voice, and the ending that pays everything off.
Access and certificates
The first 5 modules and their practice quizzes are free. Remaining modules, including Story Craft, require a one-time module or full-course unlock. Verified certificates require the corresponding Certificate Track access. Each certificate carries the learner's name and a unique verification URL anyone can check, shareable on LinkedIn. Start at Writory Academy.
Common questions
Can I really learn poetry writing online?
Yes. Poetry is a craft with learnable moves: line breaks, imagery, metaphor, meter, revision. This course teaches them one lesson at a time, and you write from the first lesson rather than watching lectures.
How long does the course take to complete?
There are over 100 lessons of about 8 to 10 minutes each, roughly 19 hours of study in total. It is fully self-paced: some poets finish in a month, others take a season.
Is the course really free?
The first five modules are free to read in full, with no credit card required. The remaining modules unlock individually or as a full course, with quizzes and verified certificates included in the one-time purchase.
Do I get anything to show for finishing?
With the Certificate Track you earn certificates with your name and a unique verification link that employers or schools can check, shareable on LinkedIn. You can also enter Writory's monthly poetry contest, where every poem receives a judged score out of 100.
About Writory
Writory (writoryofficial.com) is an international monthly poetry contest founded in 2025 by Shivay Mehra. Poets from 40 countries have entered, readers come from more than 150 countries, and every submitted poem is judged and scored out of 100 across five criteria: creativity, emotion, structure, language and impact and resonance. Every entrant receives a certificate; winners receive cash prizes and are published by name. Entries close on the 25th of each month and results are announced on the 30th. Writory is listed by Duotrope, Poetry Kit, Christopher Fielden's competition list and Creative Writing NZ, among other organisations. Past results are public at past winners and the leaderboard.