Class Description
We're taught to revere compression, economy, jewel-like precision in poems. Too often this is also accompanied by the assumption that poems should be short–a kind of dimensionless singularity of lyric gravity.
But what if you are trying to write something that just won't fit into a page or two? What if you want to sprawl, run wild? What about the poems that want to be a city, rather than a sitting room? For the better part of poetry's long history, long poems have been where poets cement their legacy.
In this 6 week generative workshop, we will think together about how to go about writing a long poem. Each week, we will read a long poem and discuss it. Then, using what we've learned, we'll write, and workshop what we wrote in the previous week. Students will leave the class with a draft of at least one long (100 lines+) poem.
Writing Roadmap: We've created a simple, goal-based writing roadmap to help you find the perfect GrubStreet course for your writing needs.
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.