Class Description
Anyone who has ever endeavored to write a poem knows this: poems are deceptive. At a glance, they look short, sparse, simple–many don’t even bother with full sentences, and are unburdened by the conventions plot that plague our longer works. How hard could it be to jot down 50 loosely associated words?
The reality is that poetry is perhaps the most challenging of all genres, and writers who are hesitant to dip their toes into the swirling whirlpools of poetry are not alone. But at GrubStreet, we think you should try anyway! We’ll help you ease your way in–you bring your curiosity, and we will provide expert guidance and a community of fellow aspiring poets. How to Write a Poem is the perfect place to start down the path of learning how to tackle head-on the challenges of working with a precious few words, within an intricate set of rules or with no rules at all, guided by the goal of tapping into poetry’s unique ability to capture precisely what can’t quite be captured in prose.
In three hours, we’ll cover the fundamentals of poetry writing: we’ll share sources of inspiration for poems, explore different forms poems can take, discuss the contemporary poetry publishing landscape, and look at examples of poems that do what only poems can do. You will have a chance to get started on a draft of one new poem, with the option to share your draft for on-the-spot feedback. Towards the end of class, we will talk through upcoming opportunities to continue developing your poetry in an upcoming GrubStreet workshop.
Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.
For more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.
This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. After registering, a yellow Resources tab will appear in this section containing a link to join class. Please note that you will need to be logged into view the Resources tab.
Zoom Participation:
In our experience, the intimate nature of a writing workshop benefits from on-camera participation. Students are of course welcome to turn their camera off whenever they need to, but it is a community norm for cameras to be on most of the time. You can learn more about using Zoom here.
Zoom Accessibility:
You can enable closed captioning at any time during the meeting by clicking the CC button at the bottom of the screen. If you'd like to access the transcript after class, please make sure to let your instructor ahead of time that you'd like a copy.