Pamper yourself by immersing your psyche in a day entirely devoted to writing poetry. In his classic poem, “The Archaic Torso of Apollo,” Rilke admonishes the reader, “You must change your life.” The class will take this dictum as the basis of this all–day poetry retreat away from the hissing repetition of work schedules, the embrace of family demands, or just the plain old boredom of routine. The goal is to generate new possibilities, new directions in the writing process. Participants will be given specific writing assignments based on the poetry of writers as various as Garcia Lorca, Pavese, Pablo Neruda, Wisława Szymborska, Li Young Lee, W.S. Merwin, Ruth Stone, Mihaela Moscaliuc, Marge Piercy, Rilke, Linda Hogan, Joy Harjo, Osip Mandelstam, Richard Jackson, Sherwin Bitsui, Bob Hickok, Mary Ruefle and more. Students should come away with at least four new poems as well as many new ideas for future poems.
There will be a one-hour break for lunch. You’re encouraged to bring a lunch with you to class so that you can spend the break in conversation with your instructor and fellow students.