SPRING 2012 SCHEDULE
Private Workshops beginning in April 2012. Download a flyer with course descriptions here.
All classes meet in my home studio in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis. Click here to join mailing list for updates and more information.
For information about private consultation click here or on the tab above.
POETRY WORKSHOP (8/12 weeks)
Section I: This workshop is not designed for absolute beginners, though you need not be published to participate. You should have an understanding of the craft of poetry and be comfortable receiving feedback. Workshop will meet for 8 weeks. Students will be asked to e-mail poems in advance of workshop meetings; internet access is required.
Saturdays, April 7th-June 2nd (No Class May 5th) 10AM-Noon; $175-$250 (sliding scale fee); $100-$125 for 1/2 time enrollment
Thursdays April 5-June 7th 6-8 PM; $300-$375 (sliding scale fee); $150-$200 for 1/2 time enrollment.
ECOPOETICS WORKSHOP (6 weeks)
How can poetry engage with a global ecosystem under duress? How do poems contend or comply with the forces of an environmental disaster? In this class we’ll be asking some of the questions posed in Brenda Iijima’s eco language reader to generate talk and strategies for writing assignments. Students will need to purchase eco language reader (Brenda Iijima, ed.; Nightboat Books, 9780982264546; $19.95) in advance of the first class meeting. Limited Enrollment.
Sundays, April 8-May13th 3-5 PM; $175-250 (sliding scale fee)
TRIGGERS AND PRACTICE (Online Workshop; Ongoing 4/8 weeks)
This workshop is designed for poets who’d like one-to-one feedback in a structured format. Course length options are 4 weeks or 8 weeks in length and will be tailored to individuals, but will provide writing prompts, general discussion (publishing venues, overall goals, etc.), and feedback on poem drafts. Class will include bi-weekly phone consultations.
Ongoing; 4-week class $75-$125 (sliding scale fee); 8-week class $175-$200 (sliding scale fee)
Poetic Form: Sonnet and Fragment Hamline University Creative Writing Programs (June 2012)
In this course we’ll be exploring the historical and contemporary history of the sonnet and fragment, thinking deeply not only about how these two forms have changed and developed over time, but also about how the rigor and demand of syntax, meter and occasional rhyme can strengthen free-verse poems. Our emphasis will be on identifying what is the most important element in any given piece of writing and shaping it to the maximum effectiveness. We’ll read from a variety of sources—from old to new—including Shakespeare, Keats, Gertrude Stein, Gerald Stern, Sappho, Gwendolyn Brooks, and David Wojahn. Using poems as points of inspiration, students will be encouraged to creatively interact with one of these traditions, renewing and modernizing their own creative aesthetic.
What's Love Got to Do with It? A Field Guide to the Sentence and How To Use it in Poetry and Prose Iowa Summer Writing Festival (July 8-13)
From Robert Frost's idea of "sentence sounds" to Allen Ginsberg's "American Sentences," writers have used, recycled, theorized, loved and considered the sentence. So what really makes a great sentence? And what can we as writers learn from them? Consider this week a participatory exploration of the compound, complex, periodic, cumulative, fragmented world of the sentence. This course is designed for writers with some experience who’d like to deepen their level of craft. We’ll read excerpts from a wide variety of works and try a variety of exercises specifically designed to get at the heart of sentence-making, building on the idea that a lot of good writing is made not only the craft of individual sentences, but also by the tension and play between these sentences. There will be time to share work each session, but we will not be formally critiquing our work in the class. Students will also have the opportunity to receive critical feedback from the instructor during individual conferences.
On the Function of the Line Iowa Summer Writing Festival (July 14-15)
Denise Levertov said, "There is no tool of the poetic craft, more important than the linebreak if it if properly understood." How can we come to understand the line in our own poems? What function does the line have in our poetry? During this workshop we will discuss these and other questions, exploring some of the different ways poets have used and approached the poetic line. This workshop is designed for experienced poets who'd like to deepen their relationship to craft. We'll look at some examples of how line is used by a variety of poets and do in-class writing exercises designed to get you thinking more deeply about your own approach to line breaks, including techniques which can be used in revision.