Poetry Writing II
Poetry Writing II is a 10-week workshop, which includes lectures, exercises, and the critiquing of student projects. The prerequisite is Poetry I (10-week), or the equivalent; Level II courses work best when students know the fundamentals and have experience with the workshop process. Farther down, you can view a syllabus for this course.
Consider it the caviar of literature: tiny eggs with tremendous taste. Or the nitroglycerin: every drop explosive. Poetry's power has endured thousands of years, captivating the most passionate souls. If you hear mermaids singing or feel the winnowing wind or see the sun rising in ribbons, then you are one of these blissful few.
To write excellent poetry, you must learn the art of packing the maximum punch with a minimum of words. Here you will learn about the specialized techniques, demands, and forms of poetry, as well as how to market your work.
If you seek to write for publication or performance, yourself or the world, we’ll show you how to write exquisite poetry.
Dynamic. Productive. Encouraging.
Sakshi Kumar
poetry reader at Bodega Magazine
Upcoming Classes
Syllabus
This course helps you sharpen your skills at poetry craft and work toward completion of one or two poems. Writers often repeat Poetry II to continue their projects. Course components:
Lectures
Writing exercises
Workshopping of student projects (each student presenting work two times)
New York City/Zoom classes
The syllabus varies from teacher to teacher, term to term. Many topics will be similar to those covered in the Online classes.
Online classes
Week 1
Tension: Poets control tension in different ways, tones, and styles.
Week 2
Metaphor: Powerful poems with and without metaphor. The benefit of figurative language.
Week 3
The Line: Emotional impact of varying line lengths.
Week 4
Meaning: Different readers' interpretations. Impressions and ideas.
Week 5
Philosophy Poems: Exploring the reasons we write and our intentions.
Week 6
Sentimentality: Emotional vs. sentimental.
Week 7
Elegy: Writing about loss. Memorializing in poetry.
Week 8
Perspective: Interpretations.
Week 9
The Impersonal I: Different kinds of first-person narration.
Week 10
Final Lines/Stanzas: How to wrap up a poem's ending. Getting the tone right. Letting the arc naturally dissolve and come to a rest.
Note: Content may vary among individual classes.
Related Courses
Creative Writing 101
A great entry point for all prose writing—fiction or nonfiction.
The Editor’s Eye
Develop the critical eye needed to be your own best editor.
In(verse): Poetic Techniques for Non-Poets
Borrow the secrets of poetry to make all forms of writing better—fiction, nonfiction, scripts, anything.
