The course moved me out of my comfort zone: for instance, with ‘The Table-Top Pencil Sharpener’, which was supposed to be pure image, but wouldn’t behave, and wrote itself anyway. I’m still surprised that I wrote many poems of which I’m so very proud, often working on both prompts. This was a big revelation for me, as well as very exciting. The whole process expanded my awareness and, rather than putting me in a straitjacket of style and substance, it expanded my horizons, sometimes with prompts that seemed totally impossible particularly daunting were the lipogram, cinquain and Alexandrine, and yet the poems flowed. View AllĪt first, wanting to keep true to my own style, I started with much trepidation but, right from the beginning, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Throughout the course you will have the opportunity to workshop your poem drafts and get feedback on your work, working towards a more polished poem. We'll cover key poetic terms and devices by studying poems by a handful of modern and contemporary poets and then get a chance to try our own hand at writing new poem drafts from a select number of prompts. Though any of us may have the potential to make that happen, having an understanding of how several tools of poetic composition can be used (and audaciously “mis-used”) gives you more ways to try (and if we do this right, we might surprise ourselves most of all). After all, poetry can change the way you and your readers think of the world and its inhabitants it can break new ground for language turn a blank sheet of paper into a teeming concert of voices and music. It is specifically for folks who believe that writing poems just to express oneself is like using the Internet just for email. Why just write poems when you can write better ones? This course is built on the notion that the most exciting writing begins after the first draft.