To heal. To possess. To eulogize. To indict. These powers, among those often ascribed to poetry, require skills that luckily can be learned and practiced. In this generative poetry workshop, we will learn and practice techniques that lend more power to our writing. We will closely read exemplary poems by Hanif Abdurraqib, Eduardo C. Corral, Louise Glück, Eileen Myles, D.A.Powell, Atsuro Riley, Kay Ryan, Robyn Schiff, Patricia Smith, and others. As we consider writing as an instrument both of power and of critique, we will discuss poetry’s interactions with ideas of authority, privilege, freedom, constraint, and social action. The focus of this class will be to cultivate an environment in which we improve our writing and learn from each other. Participants will be encouraged to write new work as well as to revise old drafts, sometimes radically. Time will be set aside to discuss opportunities fo publication.
This class will run 10 Sundays beginning September 1, 2019 skipping the Sunday before Labor Day.
