SOLD OUT!  To join the waitlist, email Classes and Workshops Coordinator Brian Blanchfield at bablanch@email.arizona.edu.
 

Class meetings: June 14,16, 21, and 23, from 6-8pm in the Conference Room at the University of Arizona Poetry Center  (four sessions, eight total class hours)

Drawing from Symbolist theories of writing, in 1961 poets Jerome Rothenberg and Robert Kelly coined the term "deep image"—inspired by Federico Garcia Lorca's notion of the "deep song"—to describe a poetry that liberated spiritual truths from the unconscious by using a surprising, potent, and unreasonable imagery. The style was championed by Robert Bly and became associated with his poetry and that of Galway Kinnell, W.S. Merwin, William Stafford, James Wright, and others. In this course we will read and discuss numerous deep image poems—influenced by Zen Buddhism, Jungian psychoanalysis, and Spanish surrealism—and enhance our own capacities for imagining in words. We will also consider the exciting work of young contemporary poets whose own imagistic styles ignite the page: Sherwin Bitsui, Camille Rankine, Natalie Scenters-Zapico, Ocean Vuong, and others. The instructor will be available during office hours for individual conferences and critiques.

Please note that no portion of the registration fee for this class is tax-deductible.