About this course: 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. It is specifically for folks who believe that writing poems just to express oneself is like using the Internet just for email. 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. 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). 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. 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.

Created by: California Institute of the Arts

Taught by: Douglas Kearney, Faculty, MFA in Writing Program
Critical Studies

Commitment	4-5 hours of lessons and assessments
Language	English
How To Pass	Pass all graded assignments to complete the course.
User Ratings	4.7 stars Average User Rating 4.7See what learners said

Syllabus

WEEK 1

Introduction and the Poetic Line

Poetry orchestrates its music, arguments, tensions, and environment via arrangements of language into lines and stanzas. This week we’ll address the importance of the line break, perhaps the most conspicuous, signature tool in the poet’s toolkit. Do you break more for sound, for sense, visual effect, shape, a mix of several? We’ll participate in several line break exercises and remix found poems. Also: prepare for your first quiz and a fun first writing prompt.

8 videos, 4 readings

Video: Why Take This Course?
Reading: Syllabus
Video: The Workshop Process
Video: Workshopping in a MOOC, part 1
Reading: Workshopping in a MOOC, part 2
Reading: Course Resources
Video: The Starting Line
Video: Rack ‘em Up: Gwendolyn Brooks' We Real Cool
Video: We/Read Close. We/Take note.
Video: Game Over
Video: Poetry Prompt 1: Line
Reading: Week 1 Summary

Graded: On the Line

WEEK 2

Abstraction and Image

Abstraction doesn’t mean “deep,” and image doesn’t mean “picture.” Images are typically understood as anything you can literally touch/taste/see/hear/smell, and abstractions are those things for which we have symbols (a clock for “time,” a heart for “love”) but no image. Abstractions and images may fill our poems, but how can you tell what’s what, and how can you leverage them to compelling ends? This week we’ll work at finding new symbols to replace clichéd ones for abstractions and we’ll work at crafting images that do more than add furniture to a poem, but create systems of relationships, moods, and even style.

5 videos, 1 reading

Video: What Does a Concept Smell Like?
Video: Beauty’s in the Eye of the Bewildered: Harryette Mullen's [if your complexion is a mess.]
Video: The Wonky Chocolate Factory
Video: Read in the Shade
Video: Poetry Prompt 2: Abstraction & Image
Reading: Week 2 Summary

Graded: Abstraction & Image

WEEK 3

Metaphor and Other Formulas of Difference

Most of us think of simile and metaphor, personification and other similar figures of speech as being about similarities between objects, concepts, and entities. But the juice in these formulas comes from how different the two things being compared seem to be. This is why writing: “the shark moved like a fish” is, alone, a lot less interesting than saying “the shark moved like a squad car.” We’ll talk about how playing with difference via juxtaposition can create a range of poetic effects. Then you’ll write a poem built of one robustly developed or several contrasting juxtapositions. We'll end this module with yet another quiz, and our first poetry workshop -- facilitated through a peer assessed assignment.

5 videos, 1 reading

Video: It is What it Isn’t
Video: Home Cooking: Victor Hernández Cruz's Red Beans
Video: Lilies and Lava
Video: After Dinner Meant
Video: Poetry Prompt 3: Metaphor
Reading: Week 3 Summary

Graded: Metaphor

Graded: First Workshop

WEEK 4

Rhyme

This week we’ll explore how rhyme leverages patterns of sameness and how we can estrange similarity for compelling poetic effects. We’ll check out examples of “rhyme”—sonic, visual, conceptual—from outside of poetry too.

5 videos, 1 reading

Video: Read Any Good Snooks Lately?
Video: There’s No “A” in Showdown: Cathy Park Hong's Ballad in A
Video: Lipo-what?!
Video: What That Was
Video: Poetry Prompt 4: Rhyme
Reading: Week 4 Summary

Graded: Rhyme

WEEK 5

Rhythm

All spoken language has rhythm, the trick is working the rhythm in such a way that drives your poem toward the effects you’re after. Maybe you want a fluid, seductive, propulsive rhythm. Perhaps something that halts or stutters. We’ll use traditional western concepts of meter as a means to open the door to this discussion, but we may leave them at the door upon entry.

6 videos, 1 reading

Video: Give the Drummer Some!
Video: Rock “The Bells”: Edgar Allan Poe's The Bells
Video: Put A Ring On It
Video: For Whom the Bell Falls
Video: Clap Clap Clap
Video: Poetry Prompt 5: Rhythm
Reading: Week 5 Summary

Graded: Rhythm

Graded: Second Workshop

WEEK 6

Sharpened Poetry: Revision Strategies

When you revise a poem, you are not trying to dull the emotional flash of your first draft. You must, instead, intensify it. In this, our final week, we’ll discuss the difference between revision and editing, the art of reading your own work critically, and the beauty of drafts. For your final peer review, you’ll turn in (and in turn, assess) a revision of one of the poems from the preceding 5 modules.

11 videos, 1 reading

Video: Introduction
Video: What is Revision?
Video: Where Do I Start Revising?
Video: How Do I Start Revising a Poem I’ve Written in Form?
Video: How do I Incorporate Workshop Feedback Into the Revision Process?
Video: Revision Recap
Video: Give Yourself A Break
Video: Furniture and Figures
Video: Just in the Nick of Rhyme
Video: Rhythm-a-Ning-a-Gain
Video: Final Thoughts
Reading: Course Credits

Graded: Final Workshop

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How It Works

Coursework

Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.

Help from Your Peers

Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material, and get help mastering concepts.

Certificates

Earn official recognition for your work, and share your success with friends, colleagues, and employers.

Creators

California Institute of the Arts

CalArts has earned an international reputation as the leading college of the visual and performing arts in the United States. Offering rigorous undergraduate and graduate degree programs through six schools—Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music, and Theater—CalArts has championed creative excellence, critical reflection, and the development of new forms and expressions.

Ratings and Reviews

Rated 4.7 out of 5 of 540 ratings

Great intro to poetry. The analysis of the poems was great, and I really enjoyed the poems covered in the course.

The writing prompts are the hardest and most time consuming part of the course. I write for fun and the practice I got from this course was very useful.

Superb introduction to poetry. Throws you right in, dangles the history and language of it in front of you, up to you whether you bite. The assignments are designed to make you think, make you create, but some of the options such as write a lipogram, or use a formal structure are actually very challenging.

I thought it was very immersive and it made me feel good.

I would recommend this impeccable course to all those who aspire to write poetry and who are already great poets too! This course helped me to learn a lot of techniques and hacks to writing a good poem. Overall, I had a great experience writing for the weekly prompts and enjoyed the lecture videos a lot. Cheers!

I enjoyed this workshop. It has helped me to rethink what poetry is, and it has given me valuable knowledge so I can write better poems. The length of the workshop is ideal. I feel the peer review aspect could be strengthened.

Sharpened Visions: A Poetry Workshop

Sharpened Visions: A Poetry Workshop

Sharpened Visions: A Poetry Workshop