In the advanced poetry workshop, we will explore writing in a range
of metrical forms, from the Middle Eastern ghazal to Japanese haiku
and tanka to the English and Italian sonnet.
I will ask you to remember in this class to enjoy yourselves! Writing is a serious art and a difficult craft, so be kind to each other, but always honest. Give each other constructive criticism, and take your classmates’ criticism as a gift, because that is what it is. Remember that you are all writers at an early stage of your careers who will improve if you stick to and work at your art. Don’t let criticism stall your creative impulses. Take what is useful to your own creativity and craft and ignore the rest. Trust your esthetic preferences, but listen to what the rest of us say, because writing is about communication with an audience and, for the moment, at least, we are each other’s audience.
I will ask you to remember in this class to enjoy yourselves! Writing is a serious art and a difficult craft, so be kind to each other, but always honest. Give each other constructive criticism, and take your classmates’ criticism as a gift, because that is what it is. Remember that you are all writers at an early stage of your careers who will improve if you stick to and work at your art. Don’t let criticism stall your creative impulses. Take what is useful to your own creativity and craft and ignore the rest. Trust your esthetic preferences, but listen to what the rest of us say, because writing is about communication with an audience and, for the moment, at least, we are each other’s audience.
- Teacher: Tony Barnstone