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Winter 2004 Workshops at Writers & Books
Poetry
 The Poetry in Our Experience Scrapbook
- Six Thursdays, April 1 – May 6, 4–6 pm
- $108 W&B members / $120 general public
- Instructor: Ron Bailey [ bio ]
We all carry dozens of poems around with us all the time. They are a part of our experiences, our memories. Richard Hugo calls them “triggers”—those light bulb moments that get a poem going. It is our job to give them life.
In this course, students will be given start-up activities to help the pen begin writing, but reflection will be at the heart of it. The instructor will address the techniques of strong metaphor, imagery, and what e.e. cummings called “less is more” (trimming away the excess).
A piece of student writing will be needed each week, with copies for everyone. In-class activity will include reading work aloud, and giving and receiving supportive, helpful feedback.
Writing for Performance: Building an Original Interpretation Program From the Ground Up
- Three sessions, Monday April 12 –Wednesday April 14, 6:30–8:30 pm
- $60 W&B members / $65 general public
- Instructor: Rachel Pollock [ bio ]
Open mikes are alive and well in Rochester! This workshop will help you tap into the experience.
- Day One: Participants will learn key components of selecting and editing poems for a performance program of Spoken Word Art, including choosing the best poems for the microphone or stage, creating a unifying theme, incorporating transitions, editing poems for performance, and tailoring a program for a special occasion or audience.
- Day Two: The instructor will concentrate on performance techniques to bring out the best in each participant’s poetry, including pitch, tone, rate and pace, experimenting with focal point, expression, physical movement, intersplicing quotations or lyrics, improvisation and more.
- Participants will showcase their work at a special open mike on Wednesday evening.
(Bring a 3-ring binder and eight to ten of your best poems.)
Advanced Poetry
- Six Saturdays, January 10 – February 14, 9:30 am–Noon
- $138 W&B members / $150 general public
- Instructor: Linda Allardt [ bio ]
This workshop gives experienced poets the opportunity to meet and work with other advanced poets in a small, comfortable setting.
The instructor will concentrate on developing ideas, imagery, and sound in free or traditional forms, to help students take their work up a notch. Participants will give and receive honest, knowledgeable, and friendly feedback.
Permission from the instructor is required for this course. Please submit five poems (limit seven pages) of unpublished poetry along with your course registration by January 1, 2004. Applicants will be notified of acceptance.
(Master Class for Advanced Poets also recommended.)
Master Class for Advanced Poets
- One Saturday, April 24, 10 am–12:30 pm
- $25 W&B members / $30 general public
- Instructors: Antonio Vallone [ bio ] & William Heyen
Tony and Bill will lead a workshop for advanced poets interested in taking that final step toward publication.
Participants will submit three pages of poetry in advance of the workshop, and the instructors will use this work as teaching material to discuss the crucial and discerning elements of poetics.
This workshop also includes free admission to MAMMOTH Night on Monday, April 26.
The Pragmatic Poet
- Two Saturdays, February 21 & 28, 10 am–Noon
- $36 W&B members / $40 general public
- Instructor: Patricia Roth Schwartz [ bio ]
This is an informational course that will help poets find homes for their work. Topics of discussion will include:
- how to prepare manuscripts,
- how to write a cover letter,
- learning about where poetry is published,
- how to locate appropriate markets,
- keeping submission records,
- copyrighting,
- on-line publishing,
- submitting to anthologies and contests,
- self-publishing,
- coping with “rejection,”
- and more. Phew!
The instructor will provide a complete bibliography and plenty of handouts.
Everything Is Poetry
- Eight Wednesdays, January 14 – March 3, Noon –2 pm
- $138 W&B members / $150 general public
- Instructor: David Michael Nixon [ bio ]
Poetry is everything you’ve ever experienced, everything you’ve never experienced, and all that you could ever imagine.
This class is open to poets of all levels and those who are interested in learning more. The instructor will ask students to write at least one new poem to bring to each session. Student work as well as published poetry will be read and discussed in class.
For the first day, students are asked to make three lists:
- Things you have experienced,
- Things you have not experienced, although you could, and
- Things you can imagine.
Try to write at least five items on each list. Also bring two poems you have already written to share with others.
Every Object is a Mirror: An Introduction to Poetry
- Six Wednesdays, January 21 – February 25, 6–8 pm
- $108 W&B members / $120 general public
- Instructor: Todd Beers [ bio ]
In this workshop, students will explore the basic elements of poetry (imagery, symbolism, rhythm, word choice, line breaks, etc.) through examination of published work, essays, group discussion, and the poems produced by the participants.
Writing will be encouraged both in and out of class, with unblocking and free-writing exercises. It will be the goal of the students and instructor to read and write with precision, and at the same time allow the poem to have a life of its own.
Sharon Olds claims, “There are three poems when we write. The poem that the poet wants to write, the poem that wants to be written, and the poem that eventually is produced.” The class will keep this in mind as ideas are exchanged and critiqued within a safe and comfortable environment.
In the Moment When You Least Expect It, Suddenly, There is Haiku
- Three Saturdays, January 24 – February 7, 10 am–Noon
- $54 W&B members / $60 general public
- Instructor: Michael Ketchek [ bio ]
This is your opportunity to become immersed in the ancient art of writing haiku.
The instructor will give participants a chance to write many haiku and have them critiqued and improved. Students will take a look at some classic haiku and also gain an overview of what is being currently published and what editors are looking for, but the main emphasis will be on writing.
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