Poetry and the Body: Craft and Revision

Class Description

In this class, we will explore how our embodied experiences related to race, gender identity, family history, religious beliefs, war, trauma, grief and loss, addiction and healing can be explored through poetry, and held by our poems. Through our personal poetry, we can deepen our understanding and appreciation of the diversity and complexity within us, and in those around us. From this place, our unique verse becomes part of a dialogue within the larger collective voice.

Craft: Weeks 1 & 2 will focus on craft as we experiment with the tools of voice, imagery, language and form to support the self-exploration that gives rise to our unique, embodied voice. These classes will provide generative writing prompts, poem readings, and group discussion. We’ll also engage with in-class workshopping of poems in- progress, and all students will receive instructor feedback on their work.

Revision: Weeks 3 & 4 will focus on revising poems of identity and the body without losing the magic the first draft allows us to discover. At the same time, we’ll focus on the “connective tissue” of the poem—the elements of story, structure, music and imagination. We’ll examine these elements both in individual poems, and across your work as a whole. We’ll explore and examine where the poems are already singing, singing to one another, and where they have the opportunity to engage us even more fully--both as individual entities, and as collective works expressive of your unique embodied voice.

By the end of this class you’ll have generated new poems, gained supportive insight into revising your work, deepened your poetry craft knowledge and will inhabit yourself in renewed ways—both on and off the page.

Class Format

This class will take place in-person at our Center for Creative Writing in Boston's Seaport neighborhood.

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