Writing poems is discovery on paper, and good poems surprise and delight the poet as much as anyone. In this workshop, designed for both new and experienced friends of poetry, you will try on a variety of styles and forms as your own poetic voice evolves. Participants will use journaling and close reading of inspiring poems as starting points for their own work, both in and out of class. The goal is for you to come away from the class with a portfolio of favorite poems — poems discovered in reading, discovered in writing. Yellow Arrow Journal poetry editor and award-winning poet Ann Quinn brings a playful and generous spirit to her classes. In the words of one student, “Ann leads her writers with the lightest touch. They do the work, but it doesn’t feel like work. It feels like love.”
August’s theme is ekphrastic poetry. Art is our muse this month. Participants will bring images of three favorite pieces of visual art, anything from a clay vase your great-aunt made to a portrait in the National Gallery, and we will use the close observation and inquiry of poetry to describe the art and learn more about the artist and ourself.
When: Classes will be held the first Saturday of each month (except for July) from 10am - 12pm - March 7, April 4, May 2, June 6, July 11, August 1, September 5, October 3, November 7, December 5, January 2, February 6
Where: Zoom, register to get link
You are strongly encouraged to register for the full 12 sessions, as we will build our vocabulary of form and technique throughout the year. However, you are invited to attend one session at a time as you are available.
About the instructor:
Ann Quinn’s poetry was selected by Stanley Plumly as first place winner in the 2015 Bethesda Literary Arts Festival poetry contest and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her work is published in Potomac Review, Little Patuxent Review, Broadkill Review, and other journals and is included in the anthology Red Sky: Poetry on the Global Epidemic of Violence Against Women. Ann lives in Catonsville with her family where she teaches reflective and creative writing and music and plays clarinet with the Columbia Orchestra. Her degrees are in music performance; she fell in love with poetry in midlife. Her chapbook, Final Deployment, is published by Finishing Line Press. Please visit online at www.annquinn.net.