Necessary Lines: A Poetry Workshop
Facilitators: Jen Fandel & Sean Hayes
Textbook: Finch’s A Poet’s Craft
Invitation: Are you someone who hasn’t written much, but who feels poetry’s voice? Are you a poet who’s been writing for years but looking to strengthen your poetic skills? Or are you simply curious about poetry’s potential and want to give it a try? No matter your interest (spoken word, Shakespearean sonnets, poems that tell a story, and more) and experience level, we—and you—have something to offer. Each class includes reading and discussing great poems, learning new skills, and giving and receiving feedback in a supportive environment. Join us.
Main ingredients: nearly every week we will
- have a craft focus (example: using metaphors) and read a chapter from A Poets Craft that helps us think through and practice using it
- have a theme (example: identity) and read poems on that theme
- reflect on a “big question” (example: how has poetry changed how we see our identities or others’?)
- write! (these can be responses to our writing prompts, or whatever you feel moved to make)
- give/receive feedback (if there are too many people per class to be workshopped every class, we’ll take turns)
Below are the focuses and themes for each week. We look forward to writing with you.
Week 1
Setting class goals and framework, how to workshop and build community among writers
Week 2:
Identifying what moves us; image and abstraction
Week 3
Using metaphor
Week 4
Voice and point of view
Week 5
Sound; freedom to stop “making sense”
Week 6
Rhythm and line, repetition and forms
Week 7
Revision techniques and play
Week 8
Final class reading and plans for next writing steps