Class Description
In this advanced poetry class spanning five months, you will come with a concept for a poetry chapbook and leave with a substantial start to the manuscript and a plan for where to go next. This class is ideal for poets with a body of existing work who are interested in developing a cohesive chapbook-length manuscript and eventually pursuing publication. Together, we'll explore the questions and possibilities that will bring your poems into conversation with each other.
We will study published chapbooks from a range of contemporary poets, identifying the elements that help individual poems cohere within a larger manuscript. We'll consider questions like: How does one order poems in a chapbook? How can recurring images, themes, formal choices, or obsessions give a chapbook shape? How can we use pattern and variation in subject, form, and voice to determine cohesion and momentum? We'll work on developing your manuscript's central concerns, arc, and organizing principles, and lay the groundwork for revising the poems that will comprise your collection.
We will also work towards advancing your individual poems, revising and polishing pieces that will become part of your chapbook, while identifying opportunities to generate new work. You will have several opportunities to workshop your poems and receive in-depth feedback during this portion of class, all with an eye towards strengthening the larger project of your manuscript. Throughout the course, we will have multiple planning touchpoints for your book, to allow for adjustments to its structure and direction as your poems develop. By the end of the course, you will have a clearer vision for your chapbook and concrete next steps toward bringing the manuscript to completion.
Admitted students will be reading the following chapbooks, and should acquire them before class begins:
- Men with the Throats of Birds by Jordan Escobar (Scroll down to the 2022 Cutbank Chapbook Contest Runner-Ups)
- Relational by Diana Cao
- line weights by Shou Jie Eng
- Tunsiya/Amrikiya by Leila Chatti
- The Problem of Deer by Lydia T. Liu
Important dates: Applications for this class are due on Monday, December 7th, by 11:59PM ET. All applicants can expect to hear back within one week of the application deadline. Applications submitted after the deadline will not be reviewed and will not receive a response.
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.