This is a 60 minute beginning poetry workshop for those new to poetry writing but would like to playfully dip their toes in these creative waters. Prior experience writing poetry is not a requirement in any way, shape or form. Simply arrive with an open heart, an open mind, and a willingness to play and be supportive of yourself and each other's creative expression.
Prior to starting the course there will be some light reading/homework: some food-for-thought excerpts from Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way" regarding our creative processes and self-permission to play, a handful of poems containing rich imagery with a description of imagery in relation to poetry, and an article on the Liz Lerman method of thoughtful critiquing. These will be emailed to you as PDF files.
The workshop will begin with a fifteen minute free-write to clear our channels and get our creative juices flowing. A free-write is simply writing whatever pops into your head without letting your pen or pencil stop. There is no wrong way to do a freewrite- just keep writing. It doesn't have to make sense. You just have to write words. These will not be shared.
We will then move on to a brief discussion and personal creativity supportive exercise regarding the excerpts from "The Artist's Way".
Following this discussion and exercise, we will each read aloud an imagery rich poem from one of the PDF files I sent you or one of your own picking that particularly moved you: What feelings or moods arise for you with the use of these images? What particular image or images produces these feelings or moods for you?
After this discussion, we will begin our fun-loving, carefree, imagery focused poetry writing exercise. We will use the remaining 20 minutes of the course to begin writing our imagery based poems.
After this workshop ends, if you'd like to spend a bit more time on your poem and are interested in receiving feedback, you may participate in the optional critiquing portion of the workshop.
If you are interested in this option, you may submit your poem to me and other workshop attendees interested in participating by the following Sunday by the 11:59 GMT-7 time (California time). Everyone interested in participating will be put on an email list that will be sent to you. All participants critiquing will have one week to read and critique each other's poems. When you have finished your critique of another person's poem, simply email them to each writer. I will critique your poem upon request as well, if you'd like me to. We will reference the Liz Lerman Method of critiquing when we critique each other's work.
Can't wait to meet you all and embark on an enjoyable hour of imagery infused poetry writing!