Poetry and the Real World - Remote!

Class Description

Poetry is an important mode through which we celebrate, narrate, and critique the world, express ourselves, and try to reach or influence others. In this class we’ll ask: How do we encounter history and current events through poems? Does a reader need to already be familiar with an event to connect to a poem about it? What happens when a poem gets the facts wrong? How do poets capture and communicate the present or the past in powerful ways? We’ll read contemporary poets like Naomi Shihab Nye and Lillian-Yvonne Bertram, and poets of the past including Walt Whitman, Bertolt Brecht, and Anna Akhmatova, to investigate how poets have illuminated significant incidents, movements, and moments. And, using prompts, imitations, free-writes, and other techniques, we’ll try our hands at writing our own poems about the history and current events that matter to us today.

This class will be hosted using live Zoom meetings! You will be able to participate in class via Zoom videoconference from wherever you’re most comfortable. All you’ll need is a laptop or a phone! About 15 minutes before your class is scheduled to begin, you'll receive an email from your instructor with a link to join the class meeting via Zoom–no need to download anything or sign up for Zoom in advance! If you have questions about remote learning, please feel free to reach out to [email protected] for more information.

For a glimpse at how remote learning works, look no further than the deep Zoom discussion of writing and literature below:

Scholarship Information

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 more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.