Poetry Writing Project Specifics

A book of poetry is not simply a product. A collection of poetry is not just the sum of many poems. When we are at our best, our books are proof of our living and thinking, proof of our investigations and ferries into our wild world and wild selves.

In this class, we will work together to write poetry with rigor, play, and honesty with our sites towards completing a full-length manuscript ready for submission and publication. We will workshop individual poems and, later, manuscript drafts, consider a wide range of work from contemporary American poets, and discuss what one can expect on the many different paths you can take from poem to published. Workshopping our own work, analysis of contemporary collections, lecture, class discussion, and Q&As with local writers and editors will be our primary vehicles for learning along with other activities designed to push students towards better, deeper, stronger work and skills that are useful to not just a single manuscript, but a life in poetry.

Cohort Meetings

In addition to class meetings, over the course of the year long program, each participant will have 4 one-to-one meetings with Danez to consult on individual poetry collections. This includes a final manuscript consultation session that will take place in December or January (or possibly early February 2020), once Danez has had a chance to read and critique each manuscript. These will be handed in on the final day of the fall/winter term class session—December 17, 2019.

The year long Poetry Writing Project will culminate in a final public reading at the Loft on Tuesday, January 14, 2020. Each participant will be able to read a 5-7 minute section of their completed collection.

Poetry Writing Project books:

Stag’s Leap by Sharon Olds
Life on Mars by Tracy K Smith
Blood Dazzler by Patricia Smith
Blessing The Boats by Lucille Clifton
Not Here by Hieu Minh Nguyen
Ode to Lithium by Shira Erlichman
May Day by Gretchen Marquette
Forest Primeval by Vievee Francis
Black Aperture by Matt Rasmussen
Whereas by Layli Long Soldier