Find out what qualifies as a “prose poem” and why you might want to try writing one.
Charles Simic once observed that “The prose poem has the unusual distinction of being regarded with suspicion not only by the usual haters of poetry, but also by many poets themselves.” What is it about the prose poem that has, on the one hand, so many readers and writers scratching their heads and, on the other, so many contemporary poets flocking to the form? In this workshop, we will try to define exactly what a prose poem is and how it differs from flash fiction, literary prose, and free verse with the line breaks removed. We will also discuss why, If you’ve never written a prose poem, you might want to try your hand at a form that has puzzled and attracted so many.
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:
- How prose poetry differs from free verse without line breaks
- Different approaches to prose poetry
- American poets known for their prose poems
- Why you should you try writing a prose poem
Time requirements
- No time required outside of class.
Materials
- All reading materials will be provided.
Who should take this workshop?
- This workshop is designed for poets who are wondering why prose poetry has become so popular and are curious to try their hand at writing one.
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.