COURSE DESCRIPTION
STAY INSPIRED. STAY ENGAGED. STAY CONNECTED. KEEP CREATING.
A poem is a conscious expression born out of the subconscious mind. This workshop is for people of all skill levels who wish to experiment with poetry as a form of artistic expression and connection. Celebrated Presidential Inaugural Poet Richard Blanco, will lead students through the process of diving deeper into their own experiences and using the power of words and to connect with readers. Students will learn how to "show, not tell" in their writing—the golden rule of poetry.
We’ll examine how this method truly works and why, in order to gain a strong and purposeful command of it. In this context, we’ll explore the dynamics between poet, poem, and reader that transform our personal stories into poems that transcend and connect with the universal truths of human experience. We will also explore the equally important subconscious territory of memory, inspiration, and imagination that bear in our poems. By practicing “fever writing” or “automatic writing,” we will tap into that subconscious to mine memories we will share in class as jumping-off points for generating new poems.
This intimate online format will take place over the course of three days. The first weekend, March 20th & 21st, students will engage in group discussions and projects, individual assignments, and critiques. Following the weekend instruction, students will be given an at-home poetry assignment. On Sunday, March 28th, students will present and workshop their draft poems.
Students will leave this workshop with a greater understanding of how to use their own memories to create written works that appeal to the universal truths of the human experience.
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND
March 20th, 21st & 28th
Richard blanco
The Transcendent Poem:
Unlock your subconscious mind to create work that connects with the universal truths of human experience
SOLD OUT!
Tuition: $425
SCHEDULE
(Eastern Time Zone)
Saturday, MARCH 20th
Morning Session, 10:30am - 12:30pm
- Meet and Greet / Student Intros
- Overview of Workshop Schedule and Content
- Interactive Craft Lecture: A Deep Dive into Show Don’t Tell
- In-Class Group Exercise: Looking for Sensory Details in Looking for the Gulf Motel
-Break -
Afternoon Session, 2:30 - 4:30pm
- In-Class Fever Writing Exercise: Your Gulf Motel
- In-Class Fever Writing Sharing and Feedback (oral)
SUNday, March 21st
Morning Session, 10:30am - 12:30pm
- Interactive Craft Lecture: Modulation of the Poetic Line & Musicality
- In-Class Group Exercise: Line Break Scrabble
- Interactive Craft Lecture: Musicality
-Break -
Afternoon Session, 2:30 - 4:30pm
- In-Class Fever Writing Exercise: Your Refrigerator
- Fever Writing Sharing and Feedback (oral)
At-Home Assignment:
Working from your fever writing exercises/feedback, complete a draft of either Your Gulf Motel poem, or Your Refrigerator poem. Upload (cut and paste) your poem into your personal Google Drive folder before class begins on Sunday, March 28th.
SUNDAY, MARCH 28th
Morning Session, 10:30am - 12:30pm
- Workshop of At-Home Poem Draft
-Break-
Afternoon Session, 2:30 - 4:30pm
- Workshop of At-Home Poem Draft
WORKSHOP SPECIFICS
Skill level
This workshop is designed for people of all skill levels. Students should have an interest in, and some prior experience writing and reading poetry. Sessions will be hosted on Zoom. Once you have completed registration we will send you your Zoom login information for the course. You do not need to download Zoom to participate on a desktop or laptop computer. You do need to download the Zoom app if accessing from a phone or tablet.
HOURS
Class sessions will run roughly 4 hours, with a morning session beginning at 10:30am and an afternoon session starting at 2:30pm. Exact timing will be dependent on enrollment numbers.
CLASS SIZE
A maximum of 12 students, and a minimum of 6*
*The workshop will be cancelled if minimum enrollment is not met within 7 days of the workshop start. If cancelled, a full refund will be issued to all registered students.
TUITION
$425 (per person + $15 processing fee)
MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR
RICHard
BLANCO
Richard Blanco is the fifth presidential inaugural poet in U.S. history—the youngest, first Latino, immigrant, and gay person to serve in such a role. Born in Madrid to Cuban exile parents and raised in Miami, the negotiation of cultural identity and place characterize his body of work. He is the author of the poetry collections Looking for the Gulf Motel, Directions to the Beach of the Dead, and City of a Hundred Fires; the poetry chapbooks Matters of the Sea, One Today, and Boston Strong; a children’s book of his inaugural poem, “One Today,” illustrated by Dav Pilkey; and Boundaries, a collaboration with photographer Jacob Hessler. His latest book of poems, How to Love a Country (Beacon Press, 2019), both interrogates the American narrative, past and present, and celebrates the still unkept promise of its ideals. He has also authored the memoirs The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood and For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet’s Journey.
Blanco’s many honors include the Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize from the University of Pittsburgh Press, the PEN/Beyond Margins Award, the Paterson Poetry Prize, a Lambda Literary Award, and two Maine Literary Awards. He has been a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow and received honorary doctorates from Macalester College, Colby College, and the University of Rhode Island. He has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and NPR’s Fresh Air. The Academy of American Poets named him its first Education Ambassador in 2015. Blanco has continued to write occasional poems for organizations and events such as the re-opening of the U.S. embassy in Havana. Blanco teaches creative writing at Florida International University and at other learning institutions all over the world. He makes his home in Bethel, Maine with his partner.
