Writing Poetry I - bmc.ARTW.B261.001.SP22

Welcome to Writing Poetry I! In this class, we’ll talk about poetry as craft, as argument, as aesthetic, as statement, as expression of self and community, and as image and memory. Using the collected and individual works of poets as our guides, we’ll use the collaborative nature of poetry to foster an environment where individual writing needs can be met and focus and attention can be brought to the smallest of details. This class should serve as an introduction to the technique and evocations involved in writing and talking about poetry, with an emphasis on discussion, workshopping, and composition. This course focuses heavily on the connections between reading and writing, and between writing and remembering/thinking/living/imagining. There will be a workshop component of the course in addition to a submitted portfolio due at the end of the term.


“So far as I am concerned, poetry and every other art was and is and forever will be strictly and distinctly a question of individuality… If poetry is your goal, you’ve got to forget all about punishments and all about rewards and all about self-styled obligations and duties and responsibilities etcetera ad infinitum and remember one thing only: that it’s you - nobody else - who determine your destiny and decide your fate.” - e.e. cummings