Poetry Workshop
Strengthen your writing practice, explore the possibilities of poetry, and discover new ways to see and express the world around you.
Modern life can pull us away from the present moment. Poetry offers a way back. Through demonstrations, discussion, generative exercises, and short craft lectures, this workshop invites you to slow down, pay attention, and experiment with language. You’ll explore poetic techniques, read and discuss the work of contemporary poets, and create original poems of your own. All writing levels are welcome.
Together, we’ll explore poems by Mary Ruefle, Linda Gregg, Sarah Ruhl, Enrique Martínez Celaya, Joy Harjo, Adam Zagajewski, and others. You’ll then put ideas into practice through writing exercises designed to help you create free verse that is sensory, elemental, and attentive to the complexity and beauty of the world around us.
More than anything, this workshop is an invitation to strengthen your creative practice and rediscover the pleasure of making something with your own hands, words, and imagination. No matter where you are in your writing journey, you’ll leave with new tools, new ideas, and a renewed sense of what poetry can do.
On-Campus Lodging
Participants can enjoy a special seasonal rate of $94 at the Stone Hotel and Cottages.
Please bring materials for taking notes and completing writing exercises. A laptop is recommended, if you have one. A USB flash drive is also recommended for saving your work.
Wi-Fi and printers will be available.
See our registration and cancellation policy.
K-12 educators in Michigan can earn SCECH clock hours by attending the Poetry Workshop.
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