The Force of Poetry

In this six-week workshop, intermediate and advanced poets will practice and refine their craft. Each week the class will include a brief discussion of contemporary poems, an in-class writing prompt, and the workshopping of each participant's new poem. Specific exercises will be given to free the imagination, and quiet the inner censor. We will explore formal considerations, stylistic choices, and those moments when a poem catches its own voice. By the end of the class, students will have produced six original poems and one revision, and will have honed their poetic voice. Please bring 15 copies of a poem you love (not your own) to the first session, as well as 15 copies of one of your own.