Poetry is a matter of life, not just a matter of language.
-Lucille Clifton
MAKE A BOOK. Saturday Aug 8, 9--11am Pacific Time
We'll look at ways other writers have organized their books, discuss various strategies for ourselves, consider chapbooks vs. full-length collections, readiness, persistence, and more. $150.
SUNDAY MORNING POETRY JULY 12--AUG 9, 9:30--noon Pacific Time.
5 Meetings, $450. Limited to 8 poets.
Join a group of serious poets for supportive critique. Application required as I don’t have room for everyone—send me one (1) poem and a brief paragraph about your writing/workshop experience.
email me: addoniziokim@gmail.com
POETIC STRUCTURE & SURPRISE: THE TURNINGS
Aug 10-14, Live on Zoom, 9am--11:30am Pacific Time; open to all
This class won’t just inspire you to write—it will also help you shape your poems in order to release the power and energy of your vision. Sure, our poems need heart, mind, fresh metaphors, precise language, ravishing imagery—but they also need structure. How can you shape a poem about events in the past? What are the possibilities of elegy? How do you avoid getting stuck in mere description? We’ll explore a few ways that poems can proceed, and we’ll jump off from discussing some examples to writing our own. We’ll talk about the concept of the turn, and study how poems move so they aren’t only one note, but also take us somewhere new and surprise us. This will be a combination of lecture/discussion and in-class writing that will inspire new work and give you ways to approach new drafts as well as revision. You’ll finish this intensive session with some new drafts, as well as useful tools to help you shape your material. $500.
Monday The Turn
Tues Concessional Structure, Emblem Structure
Wed Epiphany and Circular Structure
Thurs Elegy
Fri Retrospective and Dejection-Elation
September 1—11, 2027
Poetry Adventure in Italy
I’ll once more be leading a special adventure in Italy. Enrollment is limited, and I'll be bringing a co-teacher to join me at every workshop, so you'll have two poets to give you feedback. La Romita is a former Capuchin monastery nestled in the Umbrian hills; this is a writing retreat with plenty of time to write, and everything--workshops, transportation to/from Rome airport, delicious Italian meals, lodging, and several day trips--is included, except for airfare. As former La Romitans know, it's a truly magical experience to live in a monastery with other poets, writing together and being inspired by the beauty of Italy. There's a very early discount if you sign up by November 1, which is why I'm telling you about it so far in advance. And you've got a lot of time to save up for the best kind of vacation--a peaceful, creative, and stimulating experience. Visit La Romita's website for more info: https://laromita.org .
BOOks for Poets
FINGER EXERCISES FOR POETS, Dorianne Laux (W.W. Norton)
ORDINARY GENIUS: A GUIDE FOR THE POET WITHIN, Kim Addonizio (W.W. Norton)
THE POET'S COMPANION: A GUIDE TO THE PLEASURES OF WRITING POETRY, Kim Addonizio & Dorianne Laux (W.W. Norton)
IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND: THE POET'S PORTABLE WORKSHOP, Steve Kowit (Tilbury House)
WHY POETRY, Matthew Zapruder (Ecco)
BEST WORDS, BEST ORDER, Stephen Dobyns (St. Martin's)
STRUCTURE AND SURPRISE :ENGAGING POETIC TURNS, ed. Michael Theune (Teachers & Writers)
POETIC METER & POETIC FORM, Paul Fussell (McGraw Hill)
TEXT BOOK: AN INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY LANGUAGE, Robert Scholes, Nancy Comley, Greg Ulmer er (St. Martin's
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