A 10-Week Poetry Workshop
Tuesdays: March 18 - May 20, 6-9 PM
Expansion and contraction are two counter motions in composition. We ask how to trim excess, be concise, say as much as possible with as little as possible. But we also ask how to make our poems larger, how to get more of the world in them. In this workshop we’ll play with both elements, but focus first on possibilities for expansion, (which can but doesn’t necessarily involve length). We’ll look at poetic sequences and write a poem in parts, each part starting with a response to another work of art, text, or historical event. We’ll look at how different writers find ways to broaden the concerns in their work. We’ll also practice distillation, using brevity and fragmentation. Of course, once we get going, imagination and surprise enter in for us all.
In each workshop we’ll start with a warmup exercise, then discuss a group of handout poems and various technical elements, then spend time workshopping the poems.
***Class on April 29 will be held Online via Zoom.***
$475 Members/$675 Nonmembers
Betsy Sholl’s tenth collection of poetry was As If a Song Could Save You (University of Wisconsin Press in fall of 2022). Her ninth collection of poetry was House of Sparrows: New and Selected Poems (University of Wisconsin, 2019), winner of the Four Lakes Prize. Other awards include a Maine Book Award for Poetry, The Felix Pollak Prize, the AWP Prize for Poetry, an NEA Fellowship. She teaches in the MFA in Writing Program of Vermont College of Fine Arts and served as Poet Laureate of Maine from 2006 to 2011. She was awarded the 2020 Distinguished Achievement Award from Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance, and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Southern Maine in 2022.
ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED
All MWPA workshops require advanced registration. We accept registration by phone, mail, and online via our website. We cannot guarantee registration in the final 24-hours before a workshop, and can rarely accommodate day-of registration.
PAYMENT & CANCELLATION POLICIES
If you need to withdraw from a class after registering for any reason, please email or call the MWPA immediately. You may be eligible for a partial refund or credit, depending on how far in advance you cancel. → MORE INFORMATION
QUESTIONS
For any questions regarding this workshop, please contact programs@mainewriters.org.
REGISTER BY PHONE
Call 207-200-7180 and register with your VISA or MasterCard.
REGISTER BY MAIL
If you prefer to pay by mail, please print this registration form (downloadable PDF) and mail it to the MWPA with a check or credit card information.
SCHOLARSHIP
The MWPA is proud to offer one partial scholarship to this workshop for members-only. Scholarships are awarded on a combination of need and merit. Application Due by March 4 at 9:00 a.m.
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MWPA WORKSHOP POLICIES
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