Definition: Using Poetry to Add Dimension to Sight and Sound

Aaron Abeyta We each see and hear uniquely, no great revelation there. However, in the poetry classes I've taught students seem to fall into the "trap" of writing down abstract emotions, assuming that the reader will plug in their own story to an otherwise vague set of emotions. Whatever you call it, the "hallmark syndrome," the "plug in your life here poem," "the vague to greatness express," or "poems about true emotions: a guide to everyone's soul," there is this false impression about what poetry should be and sound like.

My goal for this workshop is to provide exercises for advanced and beginning writers to realize how the poet's eyes and ears become the framework for the poem. Using the specificity of imagination, memory, and listening to create a poem whole subject matter is personal yet capable of bringing the reader into the intricate weave of sound and sight.

Email: aaabeyta@adams.edu
Enrollment Limit: 20