"Excursions": Three-Hour Poetry Writing Sessions and Morning Poetry Writing Sessions
A three-hour session held every other Saturday afternoon. For three hours, we write together with focus and intensity in a very welcoming and supportive setting. The aim is to help you fill your notebook with ideas, lines, phrases, poem beginnings, and even complete poems. Participants are welcome to read aloud to the group after each exercise, but you can decide to keep your camera off and only write—whatever level of engagement you’re comfortable with. Simple, straightforward exercises that act as “excursions” into the exciting and often strange territories of language and consciousness. People of all skill levels are welcome: participants include aspiring and experienced poets from all over the world. If you are a writer of any type that occasionally has trouble getting started writing, or if you want to overcome writer’s block, or even if you just need to set aside time for writing, this is perfect for you.
Participants report that many poems that began in these sessions have been published in journals and have even gone on to win prizes and awards.
This is an international event, so please make sure to check your time zone and remember that the session begins at 2:00pm Eastern Time (United States).
Morning Writing: 2-hour writing sessions, from 9:00-11:00am ET. A good time to stretch the writing “muscles,” have a cup of coffee, and write in a slightly less fast and rigorous setting as compared to the Saturday sessions. Those on the west coast can watch the sun rise with some early morning writing. Friends in points east (Europe and Asia, hello!) have an opportunity to write together at a time that will be a bit easier for them than the Saturday afternoon sessions.
Poetry Workshops
There are two critique workshops: one is held from 6-9 (ET) every Thursday night for six weeks. The other is held on Wednesday afternoons from 1:00pm-4:00pm Eastern Time–a perfect time for poets in Europe and other points east.
The purpose is straightforward: poets share their work and discuss, with an eye to improving individual poems but also to learning and perfecting craft.
The groups are kept small–usually to a maximum 14 poets. Poets come for different reasons: some want to work on improving poems for manuscripts. Others want to edit with an eye to publication. Others want an incentive to write more poems. Still others are looking for kindred spirits, fellow lovers of poetry with whom they can share their new work. Participants range from very experienced published poets to writers who are exploring poetry and taking next steps in their writing journey. We all learn from each other. Recent workshop participants have included past and current MFA students; many others go on to be accepted to some of the finest writing programs in the country. Many other participants are people who have never formally studied poetry but are nonetheless serious about learning more about it and sharing their work. They could be architects, astronomers, schoolteachers, retirees, medical doctors, professors, librarians, lawyers, or archbishops (past workshops have included all of them and more) but all share a love for poetry and a passionate drive to perfect their craft.
Workshop critiques are rigorous, thoughtful, and always kind. We are all poets, fellow “true believers” in poetry’s power to transform the world.
Ideas In Poetry: Conversations
Occasional conversations on specific topics: from topics like the pleasures of ancient Chinese poetry; the poetic image; Sappho; writing dreams; metaphysical poetry; haiku; overcoming writer’s block; and many others. These might include some brief time set aside for writing, but they are primarily discussion.
