Class

Subjects and Speakers: Attending to Poetry's Perspectives

Poetry abounds in voices--fractured voices, voices challenging received knowledge, voices that might speak if only they could. In this course, participants will focus on how poets make use of the poetic speaker—the perspective in which a poem is written—to speak through a persona. What a poet chooses (and doesn't choose) to speak for the reader teaches us what values the poet holds most dear.

Participants will learn to effectively incorporate strategies of perspective effectively and imaginatively in their own work. Participants will meet to discuss two books of poetry--Louise Glück's "The Wild Iris" and Ada Limón's "The Hurting Kind"--and those poets’ use of perspective, as well as craft and discuss their own original poems with special attention to poetic perspectives. In a workshop setting, participants will work to describe the effects of each other's original poems, assisting the writer of a given poem in understanding their work. Written feedback will be provided by the instructor.

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.