Class

Six Poems in Six Weeks

While every poem has its own formal imperatives, discovering another poet’s strategies encourages and enables you to be more self-aware when crafting your own poems; finding the right “form” for the poem is critical, and formal choices change from poem to poem, depending on the poem’s subject and what you, as the poet, want to the poem to convey.

This class is a combination of discussion, writing, and sharing of your own poems. Each week we look, in-depth, at two poems by master poets, isolating and discussing the strategies at play. We will look at how pacing, diction/images, line length, enjambment, white space, rhyme and sound, syntax and grammar enable the poem’s emotion and tone; how, essentially, the poem creates its “argument” through form.

Weekly writing prompts will help you generate new material for poems, and in revising these poems you will be encouraged to “adapt” or “borrow” some of the devices on display in the example poems, or experiment with/find other, consciously chosen formal strategies of your own; such re-visioning will require that you not only practice technique, but that you also act on any insights you have about the relationship of form and content in your work.

Instructions for Accessing This Online Class

In order to access live class meetings, you must have the Zoom application downloaded to your computer. You will also need a WiFi/Internet connection throughout the duration of your scheduled meeting and a computer with audio and video capability. The information to join your Zoom classroom will be provided in your confirmation email upon registration. Please check spam folders if you do not see this email upon registration. For more information on how to use Zoom, please see our training manual here.

Some classes use a supplemental Google Classroom page. Should your teaching artist use Google Classroom, you will be invited to join the classroom via email at least 24 hours in advance of your class (check spam folders if you are not seeing this invitation). Please note that Google Classroom requires a Gmail address to access the Classroom. If you do not have a Gmail account, the email invitation will be sent to the email address we have on file and will prompt you to create a free account or enter an existing account to join the classroom. If we are unable to send an email invitation to your non-gmail account, you will be contacted by a staff member to provide a Gmail address. If you do not have a Gmail account, you can create a free account here. Should you have concerns about this, please contact a Loft staff member at [email protected] or 612-379-8999. For more information on how to use Google Classroom, please see our training manual here.