For two-and-a-half hours, we’ll look at common revision strategies as well as some that I’ve developed from decades of teaching and writing poetry, but also from my professional experience as an editor working with poets on their manuscripts. The goal is to understand what a given poem “wants” to be, and this requires objectivity, but also a willingness to let go of the kite string and let the poem fly in skies you never imagined when you wrote your first draft(s). Revision is an interplay of discipline and release, both a refining and discovery process that yields the poem’s maximum emotional and aesthetic power—its tensile strength, one could say.
In this class, I will provide examples of poems that have undergone revision—often multiple drafts—before being finished and ultimately published.

You’ll have an opportunity to work on one (or more, time permitting) of your own poems, both independently and in a breakout room with peers.

Please note: This class or event will be held online (using Zoom or a similar live platform). To participate, students or attendees should have a stable internet connection. Class participants: you should have a computer or device with a webcam and microphone; and your Zoom link will be automatically sent to you after you register. Check your spam box if you don't see it.