24Pearlstreet Workshops

Duy Doan Spontaneity, or Disruption and the Illusion of Spontaneity Poetry July 9 to July 13, 2018 Tuition: $400 Class Size: 15 Session: summer Level: 1 week asynchronous workshop

The moments that disrupt the natural movement or direction of a poem are sometimes where the poem’s pulse is most perceptible. Often we can create these moments because we’re feeling spontaneous and free to improvise. Other times we might rely on a scrappy resourcefulness, which can be just as fun and wild. In this class, we’ll work with prompts and follow through on some simple practices (making lists, looking back at old scribblings and stagnated drafts) to find ways to allow disruption to complement what’s already working well in our own process. Disruption can lead to discovery, or at least allow us to create the illusion of spontaneity that leads to discovery. Each student will receive an email after the class, with an optional phone call/Skype meeting, looking over what they’ve accomplished and providing some ideas for moving forward.

Biography

Duy Doan is the author of We Play a Game, winner of the 2017 Yale Series of Younger Poets Prize. His work has appeared in The Adroit Journal, Poetry, Slate, TriQuarterly, and elsewhere. He received an MFA in poetry from Boston University.