24Pearlstreet Workshops
In this 8-week master class in poetry, we will focus on ways in which the work of both canonical and contemporary poets can feed our creativity and help us hone revision strategies. By approaching William Shakespeare, Amy Lowell, Tim Seibles, A. E. Stallings, and others as colleagues, we not only learn from their discoveries but also become more confident of our own place in the long continuum of poetry.
Our focus will be on the tools of poetry: word choice, line, stanza, punctuation, imagery, character, sound, and syntax. Each session will include readings and conversation that focus on a specific craft element as well as a linked writing prompt and a revision workshop. Participants should be prepared to draft a new poem each week and to actively revise several of those drafts over the course of our 8 weeks together.
Biography
Dawn Potter directs the Frost Place Conference on Poetry and Teaching, held each summer at Robert Frost's home in Franconia, New Hampshire. She is author or editor of eight books of prose and poetry and has received grants and fellowships from the Elizabeth George Foundation, the Writer's Center, and the Maine Arts Commission. Her poems and essays have appeared in the Beloit Poetry Journal, the Sewanee Review, the Threepenny Review, and many other journals. In addition to writing, editing, and teaching, Dawn sings and plays fiddle with the band Doughty Hill. She lives in Portland, Maine, with photographer Thomas Birtwistle.