Create your own versions of metaphor and simile, which poets have used for thousands of years.
This class aims to restore Metaphor and Simile to prominence in the writing of contemporary poems. In the first two weeks we’ll run exercises in class and for homework on generating metaphor/simile pairs. For the next two weeks, metaphor and simile will be either added to a previously written poem, or a new one generated using them. Finally, we’ll work on extending metaphor and building a new poem around such an extended metaphor.
Live video conference: This workshop will be held via our online video conferencing platform, Zoom. You can view brief tutorials on using the platform here. On the start date or the day before, participants will receive an email with login info (please check your spam if you don’t see it).
In this workshop you’ll learn:
- Brainstorming the connections
- Metaphor – identifying a similarity in otherwise unalike things
- Simile – stating a similarity between otherwise unalike things
- How far to go – managing the differences along with the similarities
- Extended Metaphor – creating patterns of connections
Time requirements
- 30-45 minutes each week
Materials
- All reading materials will be provided.
Who should take this workshop?
- The class is pitched at Intermediate, practicing poets who want to introduce richer language to their work, and advanced poets who want to refine their ongoing use of metaphor and simile.
If you need an accommodation for this workshop, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services.
