Cost: $70 per person
Plus a $15 materials fee to be paid directly to Thelma the day of the class
The Materials fee covers photocopied poems by ethnically diverse prominent poets, as well as a copy of the author's book Rising, Falling. PLUS AS A BONUS: A total of 4 FREE BOOKS in addition to the one that comes with the class. You'll receive brand-new limited edition copies of the ALTADENA POETRY REVIEW ANTHOLOGY for the years 2015, 2016 (winner of 2 national book awards), 2017, and 2018. [retail value of all 5 books: $70.]
This workshop presents vital elements that make poetry “poetic”: figurative language, different forms of rhyme, imagery, voice (especially in “persona poems”), structure (e.g., haiku, sonnets, haibun, Tanka), rhythm, length, subject matter, and Prose Poems. For all elements, published poems will be used as examples and springboards to discussions. Attendees will be guided in writing, or at least beginning, a poem exemplifying different elements, and these first drafts will be shared if possible.
The author’s award-winning book—Rising, Falling, All of Us—is included in the materials fee and will be a resource, along with sample works from varied American poets.
See the class syllabus below:
Goal 1: To explore the different elements that make poetry “poetic”:
• Word choices (“figurative language”), such as alliteration, metaphor, simile, metonymy, personification, oxymoron, etc.
• Different forms of rhyme: half/slant, internal, accidental, exact rhymes • Imagery, or creating memorable pictures with poetic language
• Voice, especially in persona poems • Structure/format, including classics like haiku and sonnets, plus lesser-known formats such as Haibun, Prose Poem, Tanka, free verse
• Other qualities: rhythm, length, subject matter
Goal 2: To read and discuss compelling published poems as examples
Goal 3: To write (or at least begin) a poem that is a first-time effort regarding the particular structure/format; and/or includes elements of poetry discussed in this workshop that the writer had not tried before.
Goal 4: If time permits: Share our new poems!
Materials:
• Bring a hard copy of 2 published poems you absolutely love, hopefully in different styles or noticeably distinct from one another.
About the Instructor: Thelma T. Reyna, Ph.D.
Thelma’s books have collectively won 14 national literary awards. She has written 5 books: a short story collection, 2 poetry chapbooks, and 2 full-length poetry collections, including her latest release, Reading Tea Leaves After Trump (2018), which won 6 national book awards in 2018 and was selected as a "2018 Book of the Year." Her fiction, poetry, and nonfiction have appeared in literary journals, anthologies, textbooks, blogs, and regional media for over 25 years. As Poet Laureate in Altadena, 2014-2016, she edited the Altadena Poetry Review Anthology in 2015 and 2016. She was a Pushcart Prize Nominee in Poetry in 2017.
To sign up for this class, please call Customer Service at (626) 449-5320.
All classes will take place in the Vroman's Meeting Room, Suite 120 located next door to Vroman's Main Store in the Atrium at 709 E. Colorado Blvd. Suite 120.
If for any reason you cannot attend a class you have signed up for, we require 24 hour notice of your cancelation in order to receive a refund. Refunds will NOT be issued on the same day of class or after the class has already occured.