In this weeklong generative poetry writing class, we’ll explore many ways to write elegiac poetry. The elegy is an ancient poetic form containing the elements of lament, praise, and solace. Traditionally written in a metrical form, elegies are now typically written in free verse. Elegy often addresses not only who or what is lost, but also the act of remembering, caring, or honoring. 

In this class, we’ll ponder how the language of memory functions as a space of mourning, and how experimenting with form, fragment, and repetition investigates the act of losing and renews elegiac writing. We’ll read poems that range widely in their form and craft by writers like Elizabeth Bishop, Lucie Brock-Broido, Anne Carson, Victoria Chang, Natalie Diaz, Louise Glück, Susan Howe, Jean Valentine, and other writers. We’ll listen to pieces of elegiac music and consider how music can influence the movements and patterns of our writing, and we’ll discover how visual poetry approaches the elegy with a field trip to the University of Iowa’s Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry.

Throughout the week, writers will receive a series of poetry writing prompts and exercises exploring their own relationship to loss and to memory. Meetings will include a mix of reading-based discussion, generating and sharing new poems, and informal feedback. Each student will also workshop one new poem written during our week together and receive formal feedback from me. Additionally, I will conference with each student outside of class to discuss your work. In this supportive space, we’ll honestly, transparently render grief and loss.

Takeaways:

• You will become familiar with the craft of elegy writing.
• You will draft several new poems.
• You will workshop one new poem written during the class.
• You will receive both informal and formal feedback on your poetry.
• You will read and write within a supportive class community.

In this workshop, we will generate new writing through guided exercises and prompts; offer feedback/provide first impressions on writing you produce in our week together.