Course Description

Poetry Workshop: Image, Meaning, and Musicality

Memory and experience often provide the raw material for a poem, but how do you shape it into art? In this class we’ll read and discuss poems by some of the best poets writing today, focusing on those elements that distinguish poetry from prose—imagery, metaphor, musicality, and effective line breaks. There will be writing exercises and assignments to be shared with the class for critique and commentary. No previous background in literature required. Limited to 12.

Required Text

Frances Mayes, The Discovery of Poetry: A Field Guide to Reading and Writing Poems

Learner Outcomes

After this course, students will be able to

• Identify the elements of craft (rhythm, rhyme scheme, sound effects, imagery) in poems by established poets

• Recognize possibilities for poetry in everyday experience and observation, as well as in your own memories and imagination

• Approach revision more systematically

• Make poetry a priority in your life, by regularly carving out time in your busy schedule for reading, writing, and revising your poems

Applies Towards the Following Certificates

• Creative Writing Certificate : Elective Courses