Claudia Gary

To explore some of the fine points of meter, we will examine how metrical patterns can vary between ...

Here’s an opportunity to shed any misconception that poetic forms are only constricting. We will do brief writing exercises that use the enchantment of meter and rhyme to free your deeper imagination. After exploring several traditional forms, we will experiment with creating improvised (nonce) forms. Participants may leave with at least one new draft poem and ideas for creating more.

Trauma can shut us down; writing poems can help free us to open up again. This workshop will present some of the many ways poetry has helped writers both heal trauma and prevent post-traumatic stress syndrome. Guided by an internationally published poet and health journalist, you will explore the science behind this and learn a range of techniques, immediately putting several of them to use in drafting new work. The workshop includes reading and discussion of time-honored poems, close attention to emotional and sensory aspects of poetry, several in-class writing exercises, and feedback on poems for those who wish to share them. (NOTE: All sharing is optional. This workshop is not a substitute for therapy.)

When you have an idea for a poem but aren’t sure where to start, try a triolet. This eight-line framework can become a powerful poem, or a stanza in a larger one. We’ll start by reading time-honored triolets to see how and why they work. Next we’ll write one together, then individually, with time at the end for feedback.

“Whole-Brain Poetry” is an opportunity to explore some of the many ways poetry interacts with the brain, and to enrich your writing with that knowledge. This includes but goes beyond the use of metaphor. Through writing exercises, close examination of time-honored and recent poems, workshopping of participant poems, and brief reading assignments, we will examine the neurology and psychology of poetry, the relationship between time and memory, how science has influenced well-known poets, how poetry can help to heal trauma and prevent PTSD, and more.

Guided by an award-winning and internationally published author of sonnets, villanelles, and other metrical poems, you’ll first read time-honored sonnets to see how and why they work. Next the class will write a group sonnet, and then -- with or without shortcuts -- you’ll start one of your own. You’ll leave with at least one new (draft) or improved sonnet, as well as insights about how writing poems in form can unlock deeper meaning and enhance everything you write.