Intro to Poetry

Class Description

Ready to get your poems out of your journal and into a new form? If you want to try your hand at poetry, or need a refresher on the fundamentals and the inspiration to produce some new work, this class is for you. Over six weeks, you will learn essential poetry techniques and start putting them into practice in your own poetry. Each week, we will focus on a different aspect of craft and/or poetic form––including imagery, musicality, persona, and more––and explore it through published poems by authors like Gwendolyn Brooks, Robert Hayden, Elizabeth Bishop, Langston Hughes, Agha Shahid Ali, and Mary Oliver, to help illustrate these topics and inspire our own work. We’ll put the tools we learn to work through weekly exercises and writing prompts, and you’ll have the opportunity to receive feedback from your instructor and fellow writers to help you get a sense of your strengths and instincts as a poet, and how to build on them.

By the end of class, you’ll not only be versed in the fundamentals, but you’ll walk away with a few new poems and the tools to continue developing them.

Class Format

This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. 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!

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.