Writing

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Writing in form puts you in good company

Head back to poetry’s roots, and write in forms poets have written in for centuries. You, like Shakespeare, will write a sonnet; like Dylan Thomas, a villanelle; like Agha Shahid Ali, a ghazal; like Elizabeth Bishop, a sestina.

You’ll follow in the footsteps of giants, but formal poems needn’t parody the past. Analysis of both classic and contemporary models helps you navigate each form. You’ll take away tips for finding inventive rhymes and varying conventional rhythms while writing with a contemporary voice. Soon you’ll be dreaming in iambic pentameter.

Freedom in constraints

But why force your ideas into fixed forms when you can write verse that’s “free”? Many poets chafe at non-negotiable line length or strict meter. But there’s a rhyme and reason behind structural rules: they can be downright liberating.

Too many options often overwhelm. Form gives you a place to start, and a place to go. It defines a handful of clear choices, challenging you to be creative within a framework where “the imagination is taxed to its utmost—and will produce its richest ideas.” (T.S. Eliot)  Poets who masterfully manipulate form and structure not only entrance readers, but satisfy a deep yearning for merging pattern and mystery, coherence and surprise.

Of course, formal verse isn’t for everybody. Yet dabbling in rhyme and meter may open new dimensions in your own reluctant poems. Training your ear to the nuances of form can make your writing more musical, whether you were born with a good ear or not. And relying on tried-and-true structures teaches you how to make graceful arguments, use meter to invigorate every line you write, and explore the delightful commingling of form and content. You’ll add new tricks to your writer’s toolbox, which you can use on poems both formal and free long after finishing the course.

Who is this course for?

• Free verse poets ready to shed formal inhibitions and embrace creativity within formal structures
• Writers who want to write in form to get closer to the roots of poetic tradition
• Poets looking to write contemporary poems using the conventions of fixed forms
• Any writer who’s taken the online courses “Getting to Good” or “Taking the Poetic Leap” and would like to expand into formal techniques (there’s no required prerequisite, but it’s recommend you take at least one poetry course before this one if you’ve never penned a poem)
• Intermediate or advanced poets inspired by the challenge and discipline of writing in traditional forms and looking to take their writing to the next level
• Any poet who wants to improve their ear, expand their vocabulary, and strengthen structure—so they can write some of their best poems yet

How the course works

You can start our workshops anytime, and there are no required hours to log on. It’s all done with one-on-one correspondence with the instructor using email. You can read and print course materials in the course Web site, which you can access at your leisure with a password that we will give you. We have writers from around the world participating in our workshops. A lot of great writing gets accomplished via email. Because of the one-on-one nature of our workshops, you’ll find them an excellent “coaching” or mentoring situation that will keep you going. And if you want to just work on your own — hey, that’s fine too. Of course you can do the suggested exercises on your own without the feedback if you’d rather do that. We’re also here throughout the year if you have questions.

By participating in this class you will earn: