Section 12: NEW!
CARRIED AWAY: How to Make A Poem Take Flight
Write-by-the-Lake Writer’s Workshop & Retreat
June 26-30, 2017
9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. each day
Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St., Madison
UW-Madison Continuing Studies & UW-Madison Dept. of English
Instructor: Marilyn Taylor
If you’re a poet, you already know that an outstanding poem is one that virtually “takes
the top of your head off,” as Emily Dickinson once so memorably put it. They’re the
poems that have managed to morph into something considerably more than the sum of
their parts. How?
By merging three essential elements: a convincing voice, an identifiable mood and a
clear point of view. With these elements in mind, we’ll try out some concrete, workable
ways of achieving extraordinary results.
The format will be basically that of an informal poetry workshop, where we’ll provide one
another with invaluable guidance and feedback about what works—and what doesn’t.
Your daily assignments will be flexible, but be aware that you’ll be urged to try out some
methods and techniques you might never have considered before. You’ll be asked to do
this not merely for the sake of experiment—and certainly not for squelching any of your
own creative impulses! Rather, you’ll be acquiring more of the skills needed for writing
poems on subjects you may have been patiently waiting to tackle.
Marilyn L. Taylor, a former Poet Laureate of Wisconsin and of the city of Milwaukee, is
the author of eight collections of poetry, most recently Step on a Crack (Kelsay Books,
2016). Her poems and essays have appeared in many anthologies and journals,
including Poetry, Able Muse, Measure, Light, Rhino, and the Random House
anthology titled Villanelles. She has been awarded First Place in a number of national
and international poetry contests, among them the 2015 Margaret Reid Award for
verse in forms. Her own widely-read “Poet to Poet” column on craft appeared bimonthly for five years in The Writer magazine. A long-time resident of Milwaukee, she
now lives in Madison, WI, where she facilitates independent poetry workshops,
readings, and presentations locally, statewide, and elsewhere, including programs
sponsored by Lawrence University’s Bjorklunden Seminar Center (Baileys Harbor, WI),
Poetry by the Sea (Madison, CT), West Chester University (PA). She currently serves
as contributing poetry editor for the poetry journals Third Wednesday and Verse-Virtual.
Syllabus
Monday: OVERVIEW:
On our first day, we’ll be spending much of our time discussing and experimenting with
the most evocative language and poem-specific imagery that best serves a particular
poem’s purpose. We’ll also read a selection of works by well-known poets (including
Dickinson), for purposes of inspiration—and also to see if filching some of their creative
strategies can help us further expand our own.
The days that follow will be basically that of an informal poetry workshop, involving four
overnight assignments. The themes for these assignments (each of which will be
workshopped the following day) are as follows:
Tuesday: “THE SOUL SELECTS HER OWN SOCIETY” —EMILY DICKINSON
Poems of serenity, wholeness.
How can a poet best convey a sense of spirituality? By drawing directly from the
world’s great ideologies? By contemplating one’s own personal take on the mysteries
of life, death, eternity? Or simply by acknowledging a certain wonderment, or doubt?
With the help of an evocative vocabulary and fresh imagery, you’ll be motivated to draw
insights from any or all of the above for expressing the inexpressible with readers.
Wednesday: “THE ART OF LOSING” —ELIZABETH BISHOP
Poems of loss, sadness, regret
Question: Why do the best poems about grief and loss affect us as keenly as they do?
Answer: Because they sail in waters that extend beyond sorrow. They manage,
instead, to deal with sorrow in ways that are carefully crafted, rather than by recycling
the all-too-familiar “She’s gone and I miss her” or “That old rockin’ chair is empty now.”
And you can examine exactly how it’s done.
Thursday: “THERE IS NO HAPPINESS LIKE MINE” —W.S. MERWIN
Poems of optimism, comedy, and/or serious zaniness
Many have claimed that upbeat, positive poems are somehow less worthy than dark,
negative ones. Is it really more important to cry than to laugh? Does the presence of
optimism or humor in a poem suggest a lack of substance? The challenge here will be
to create a poem that not only affirms a light at the end of the tunnel, but one that also
acknowledges the tunnel.
Friday: “EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD IS WAITING” —WILLIAM STAFFORD
Poems for encouraging change
A poem of protest is likely be volatile, single-minded, opinionated, emotional—even all
of the above. And when it’s done well, it can be devastating. On the other hand, the
sheer intensity of the poet’s commitment to a cause can easily get in the way of the
poetry. This session offers tips for avoiding the pot-holes, sand-traps and bottomless
pits that could get between you and your target.
Recommended reading:
Walking Light, by Stephen Dunn (Norton, 1993)
The Flexible Lyric by Ellen Bryant Voight (U of Georgia Press, 1999)
Credit Option: Participants earn 1 credit by attending class and completing the
assigned work for the week: daily reading, writing at least five pages of original work,
and critiquing of own and others' work. To earn 2 credits, participants submit an
additional five pages of their poetry. Participants earning 3 credits complete all of the
above requirements supplemented by another five to 10 pages of poetry or a short
paper synthesizing how the material covered during the week applies to their own
creative projects and/or teaching. The work must be handed in within two weeks of final
class date.