Short & Sweet & Maybe Sour: The Art of Writing Short Poems (with Gail Thomas) - ONLINE
Some of the most powerful and memorable poems are short – they pack a punch and linger. How to craft such a poem? Compression, imagery, tension, sounds, surprise. We will study examples by a diverse group of poets to discover techniques that work to create these gems. Participants will write each week using prompts or ideas gleaned from our discussions. Writers will receive feedback on their works in progress. Open to poets of any level, this workshop will illustrate how to use craft to deepen their work. All levels. Limited to 10 writers.
WHEN: 3 Weeks: Sundays, December 3 - 17 (10am - 12pm EST)
WHERE: Online, via Zoom video conference
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
GAIL THOMAS's published books are: Leaving Paradise, Trail of Roots, Odd Mercy, Waving Back, No Simple Wilderness: An Elegy for Swift River Valley, and Finding the Bear. Trail of Roots won the A. V. Christie Series of Seven Kitchens Press, Odd Mercy, chosen by Ellen Bass, won the Charlotte Mew Prize of Headmistress Press, and Waving Back was named a Must Read by the Massachusetts Center for the Book and Honorable Mention by the New England Book Festival. Her work has appeared in many journals and anthologies including The Beloit Poetry Journal, Calyx, The North American Review, Italian Americana, and Valparaiso Poetry Review. Individual poems have won prizes including the Naugatuck River Review’s Narrative Poetry Prize, Quartet Journal's Editor's Prize, and the Pat Schneider Poetry Prize. Gail has been a fellow at The McDowell Colony and Ucross. An experienced educator, she lives in Northampton and has retired from Smith College. She teaches, speaks at conferences and poetry festivals, and reads her work widely in community and academic settings.
COURSE OUTLINE
WEEK ONE: Less is More
We'll read and discuss many short poems from both traditional and contemporary writers to discover why brevity and compression make them effective.
WEEK TWO: Imagery and Sound
Our focus will be on isolating fresh images and paying attention to the use of sound and rhythm to create a satisfying whole.
WEEK THREE: Beginnings and Endings
Both the opening and closing line of a poem do a lot of work in a short poem. We'll examine different ways to approach this important craft work.
GOALS OF THIS COURSE
- Gain exposure to a wide range of diverse writers who write short poems.
- Understand what makes short poems most effective.
- Generate ideas and structure for new poems.
- Expand skills in giving thoughtful feedback to others.
- Receive supportive and considered feedback from instructor and group.
RECEIVING THE ZOOM LINK: For one-day workshops, we send out the link to attend the Zoom session 1 - 2 days before the event, via email. For multi-week workshops, you should receive info and the link about 3 - 5 days before. Please mark your calendars when you first register and look for our emails. If you don't see the email in your inbox on the day before the class, please check your spam and junk mail folders (and search all folders) for an email from joy@pioneervalleywriters.org before contacting us. We have found that very often our emails end up in those folders. This is based on your own email settings, and you can prevent this by adding our email as a contact.
ONLINE SESSIONS happen remotely, via Zoom video conference. All you need is a laptop, computer, or phone with functioning audio and a webcam. Those who RSVP receive directions and a link to "join" the session via email (please see above note about receiving the Zoom link). All online instructors will log on to the video conference a few minutes before the start of the session, so please plan to log on early if you'd like assistance! We'll do everything in our power to help you get comfortable with the Zoom format, though we are not able to offer technical assistance beyond basic Zoom orientation.
REFUND & CREDIT POLICIES AT PVWW
If you withdraw from a workshop ten days or more before the start of the class: You'll receive full credit toward another workshop OR a full refund (minus automatically-deducted 4% service charge we must pay Square). If you withdraw from a workshop nine days before the start of the class up until 48 hours before: You'll receive a refund minus 20%. If you withdraw from a workshop less than 48 hours before the start of a class or after the class has begun: We are not able to offer you credit toward another class or a refund. In the case of medical emergency, please contact us directly and this will be handled on a case-by-case basis. If you are absent on the day of your workshop or miss it for any reason, we are unable to offer any kind of refund or credit. However, if we have to cancel a class you have paid for, you will receive a full refund, without the service charge deducted, or if you choose, credit in the amount of your payment to be used for any future PVWW class. Anyone who does not specify whether they would like a refund or a credit for a cancelled class will automatically receive credit, which will automatically receive credit. Please contact Joy (joy@pioneervalleywriters.org) for all matters concerning credit and refunds.