If you’ve been hanging around YeahWrite for a while, you’ve probably picked up on the fact that I dig poetry. I started writing poems in elementary school after devouring my first Shel Silverstein book. I loved the playfulness and creativity I discovered in every line of Where the Sidewalk Ends. I moved on to Jane Yolen, Jack Prelutsky, and Ogden Nash, falling in love with the way their use of rhyme, meter, and wordplay gave their ideas energy and rhythm.
I was hooked. So hooked, in fact, I entered poetry contests throughout junior high and high school and then worked toward a poetry degree in college. WIth every new school, however, I noticed professors become more and more strict with their approach to teaching the subject. Instead of introducing questionable limericks and lyrical odes to the beauty of this world, they lectured on the One True Interpretation of a poem. They gave tests demanding that students analyze all of the fun out of poetry. It became a subject I loathed because it robbed me of my passion and made me feel dumb.
So I wanted to teach a class that reintroduced people to poetry. The fun side of it, that is. The cover-all-the-desks-with-huge-pieces-of-paper, give-kids-buckets-of-colors, and-let-them-finger-paint-all-afternoon kind of poetry. Only by “colors” I mean words and by “kids” I mean new poets, seasoned poets, writers of fiction and microfiction, writers of personal essays. I wanted this class to be for pretty much everyone.
Because I firmly believe that writing poetry will help any aspiring author improve their craft.
No, seriously. Writing poetry forces authors to take new and uncharted paths to express emotions. It requires people to cut to the heart of a scene and distill entire lifetimes into three powerful images or a metaphor that rings bells several miles away. That distilling process can help writers define their intention with a piece, cut out anything that doesn’t support their intention, and it can even help people come up with titles for their work! When it’s done right, poetry can reach down a reader’s throat, grab their heart, and show it to them. And isn’t that the reason every writer writes?
I’ll answer that quasi-rhetorical question: Yes! So join me! I’ll throw a tarp on the floor, and we’ll pull out some Bunsen burners and conduct some experiments. Things are going to get messy and fun!
Course Description
Here’s how this will work:
For six Sundays, students will receive a lesson in the form of an email from Nate. Its contents will include a quick follow-up on last week’s topic, an introduction (or reintroduction) to a basic poetry writing technique, a poem that exemplifies that technique, a pertinent game or exercise, and finally a poetry writing assignment.
Throughout the week, Nate will be facilitating the games and exercises he mentions in the emails in a class Facebook group. He will be encouraging the class to interact there. If participation is high, he will throw out other writing games such as Exquisite Corpse or Predictive Text Poetry to play as well.
The Facebook group will also serve as an optional workshopping forum for feedback on the assignment from Nate and other classmates. Students will also have the option to skip the public share and email their work to Nate.
It sounds like a lot, but your real, practical weekly time commitment for coursework will be about a half-hour. The amount of time you invest in writing the assignments and participating in the Facebook games is up to you. You’re even invited to share your work on our weekend showcase grid!
Payment and Registration
The fee to participate in Fun With Words for YeahWrite subscription members is $19. The fee to participate for non-members is $24. Payment and registration will open February 1, 2018, and will close March 17, 2018.
Classes will begin March 18, 2018. The last lesson will be emailed on April 22, 2018, but students will still be able to participate in the Facebook group and have full access to the instructor and the Facebook group until April 28, 2018.
Please register for Fun With Words here.
Now hop over to PayPal to complete your registration by paying for Fun With Words. (Yup, Editor Stacie’s name is still on our PayPal link. Don’t worry: the money comes to us.) Please add one of the following codes in your PayPal notes so that we know why you’re sending us money! FWW Member = for YeahWrite Members ($19); FWW = for nonmembers ($24)
Not sure if you’re a YeahWrite Member? Ask us at editors@yeahwrite.me.
Registration Checklist
Because it’s nice to have everything in one place!
Have you:
- Filled out the registration form?
- Sent in your payment with a note explaining what it’s for?
- Checked your email for confirmation?
If you’ve got all that handled, stay tuned for your add to our class group and the first lesson on Sunday, March 18.
