Courses

In this course, we’ll explore a rich range of poetic forms to better understand the forces that have shaped contemporary American poetry and to experiment with structure and sound in our own writing. We’ll study “verse forms”—poems rooted in thematic traditions, such as epistolary poems, elegies, odes, and pastorals—alongside “shaping forms” like villanelles, ghazals, and sonnets, each defined by particular craft parameters. Through close readings and discussions of published poetry, we’ll consider the key conventions and thematic legacies of each form, attending to elements such as syntax, diction, repetition, and sensory detail. You will try these varied forms, using structured prompts to support your experiments. Feedback from the instructor and peers will help shape revisions. Over our six weeks together, each student will submit at least three poems for the workshop and develop one into a polished final piece.