Writing Poems/Making Them Better
Spring (14 hrs or more) | This course has been canceled
Since there has been writing, there has been poetry. Poetry is an art, and a poem is a made thing, created and constructed. Like all made things, there are ways to do it “right.”
As with any form of art, most of us find getting it exactly “right” is rare. We do try to make our poetry as effective as possible. We want the poem to have an impact, and that’s one reason we work to craft it with care.
Craft can be taught, and the purpose of this course is to understand why this matters and to familiarize participants with tools that will help express your creative thoughts, feelings, and ideas with as much power as you intend. Class participants will accomplish this by reading the work of published poets, writing and presenting poems of your own, and learning the art of critique.
- There are no required reading materials.
Don Herzberg
Don Herzberg, who has lived in Vermont since 1980, is a retired doctor with an MFA in poetry writing. He has self-published his book Dancing on Earth and two books coupling his poetry with his wife’s artwork. His chapbook, The Things She Said, has been published by Red Bird Chapbooks.
Regarding the book, Don says, "A few years ago I realized I was frequently quoting my mother’s sayings in my own day-to-day life. I thought I might be able to bring what that meant into clearer focus by including each of the remembered sayings into a poem and put those together into a short book."
Betsy Vickers
Betsy Vickers is a graduate of Bennington College and has an MFA from The Art Institute of Chicago. She worked previously creating print media and websites for educational programs, with an emphasis on study abroad. She has been dedicated to writing poetry since 1995.