Aside from the perfunctory stuff we crank out at work or at the kitchen table, writing finds its source in solitude, but it cannot remain there if it is to come fully to fruition. Paradoxically, this is so even when we are “writing for ourselves,” even—perhaps especially—in a genre such as poetry, which is sometimes regarded as the most private sort of writing. We will share and discuss our poetry—full drafts, promising scribblings—both to deepen our understanding of what we mean to say and to discover within the tradition of poetry better means of saying it.

The core of the course is the shared editing of drafts of poetic writing. This activity will be supplemented to the extent participants wish with writing exercises, prompts, and exemplars intended to inspire us and to broaden both our poetic technique and our sense of what is possible within the genre. Poetry workshop will work as well for beginners as it will for quite experienced writers.