How to Write Poetry: Form and Feeling

This 10-week course will involve studying a range of poetic forms, through traditional and contemporary examples. As well as studying these forms, we will also workshop the poems during and between each class. The poetic forms we will cover are: Nocturne – a poem about the night, the nocturne can focus on ideas, moods and other objects associated with the darkness. Free in form, this form is evocative and imaginative. Haibun – the haibun comprises prose poetry, followed by a haiku, which acts as a sort of tiny platform for the initial block of text. Often associated with nature, the form is visually pleasing, and ripe for experimentation. Prose poem – lacking the line break associated with verse, a prose poem is both poetry and prose, possessing other attributes of poetry such as sound devices and poetic language. Villanelle – originally a dance-song dealing with pastoral or rustic themes, the villanelle observes a strict rhyme scheme, and affords the writer a platform for developing a refrain. Golden shovel – a newer form created in homage to American poet Gwendolynne Brooks, in this form a borrowed line of poetry supplies line-end words for the new, original verse. Pantoum – originating in Malaysia, this form consists of two quatrains, with repetition of lines from stanza to stanza. Full of echo and resonance, this form encourages development of ideas and feelings. Acrostic – a form that spells a word using the first letter of every line, the acrostic is a puzzle to write, and an exercise in both revealing and concealment for the reader. Elegy – a poem dealing with death and loss, the elegy allows the poet to mourn. Often containing three parts – a lament, praise and consolation - this form presents one of the most human emotions: grief. Epistle – a poem as a letter, the epistle can explore ideas of writing and reading, poet and addressee. This form can complicate ideas of the recipient, focusing on the abstract or an actual person. Couplet - a simple, yet effective form, the couplet is a two-line stanza, rhymed or unrhymed, closed or enjambed, utilized to convey love, a narrative, or writing itself. Ekphrastic – a poem written after a piece of art, the ekphrastic opens new doors to writing and seeing; it can adhere closely to the artistic prompt, or journey somewhere new, inspired by the visual.