the attic institute

“A poet’s resources and inspirations remain constant, but our curiosity about form and technique renews the art for us.” ~ Paul Violi In this session we’ll open up and explore several potent forms that power great poetry, like the aubade, pantoum, litany, and palindrome. And maybe more importantly, these forms will provide a roadmap and a toolkit for future radical and satisfying revision of your draft poems. We’ll consider the music and strategy of model poems, and then through writing experiments and play, we’ll draft our versions. You will leave each evening with an appreciation and a draft of the evening’s form, and that form that will stay with you to invigorate your writing practice. Zoom link provided prior to start of workshop. Teacher: John MorrisonTime: Wednesdays,…

“Poetry is speech with song in it, the song made by words made to dance." ~ Robert Nye Prosody in the poems of Terrance Hayes, Mary Szybist, Diane Seuss, and others In this afternoon gathering, we will step into several poems by highly-accomplished poets and see what techniques they use to achieve their superior poems. More exploration than lecture, together we’ll discover the formal strategies and deep music in the work of Terrance Hayes, Mary Szybist, and Diane Seuss, among others. While this exploration can be seen as a follow up to January’s Deep Music of Poetry session on prosody, all are welcome for this fresh adventure. Be ready to read and collaborate in a full afternoon of discovery, and plan to carry home inspiration for…