Yearlong in Poetry [Bill Carty]

In weekly meetings over the course of the 2018-2019 academic year, Hugo House’s yearlong classes will provide dedicated writers with an intensive path toward finishing a draft of a book.

Whether you are early in the writing process or already have a rough draft, these yearlong courses will help you set active, clear goals, as well as write and revise with intention. One-third of each course focuses on developing proficiency with the writing tools (craft elements) that you will need to use, and the remaining two-thirds are comprised of workshops and writing toward personally devised deadlines.

It is okay to miss some classes because of travel. That said, students who get the most out of yearlong classes are often very dedicated to their writing, and are eager to develop a strong and steady writing practice, as well as become part of a tightly knit cohort of writers.

Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky wrote, “Diamonds are not found in black earth; they have to be sought near volcanoes.” In this yearlong poetry class, we’ll write poems that seek to tap into this artistic heat. We will workshop and revise these poems while finding inspiration from both historical sources and contemporary poetry collections. Combining both workshop and generative exercises, the course will emphasize the development, critique, and inspiration for long-term poetic endeavors. Workshop experience required.