Workshop
The Poetry Lab: Crafting and Critiquing in Community
with Samuel Louis Spencer & McKinley Dirks
May 1 - May 22 • 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM (EST)
Dates
May 1 - May 22 • 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM (EST)
Duration
4 weeks
Location
Online
Price
US$125
About the workshop
In this weekly workshop, we will convene to write, read, and revise our poetry.
Details
This month-long program is designed to get poets thinking critically about each other's work in a judgment-free environment. Engage with other poets in the practice of prosody, polishing your poems until they are ready for publication (woah, alliteration!).
For each session, expect to read and critique poems written by everyone in attendance; expect to push the limits of your creativity while honing your abilities as a professional. At the end of the month, participants will have a small portfolio of poems ready for submission and new friends to keep in touch with.
In addition to feedback from peers, participants will be expected to read various essays/poems before each weekly get-together.
What you will learn
• How to give and receive critique. • How to apply revisions to a piece of work. • What questions to ask yourself when critiquing your own work later on. • How to structure cover letters and submit poems to publications.
Workshop takeaways
Finding a writing community is easier said than done. This poetry workshop is designed for poets to get together to discuss their work while simultaneously acting as a way of getting to know one another. In addition to the poems written in this class, participants will be able to learn more about publication while building relationships in the writing community.
Additional info
Workshop meeting dates:
May 1
May 8
May 15
May 22
About the instructors
Samuel Louis Spencer
Samuel Louis Spencer is a poet and journalist based in Tampa, Florida. His work has appeared in The Decadent Review, Scapegoat Magazine, Tokyo Poetry Journal, Inlandia, Third Wednesday, Barzakh Magazine, and others. Spencer grew up in Malawi to missionary parents before attending boarding school in Kenya. He earned his MFA from Liberty University and is passionate about traveling and the outdoors. Currently, he writes for The Travel, Curated, Outdoor Master, and Snowboarding Days. His favorite poets include Pádraig Ó Tuama, Billy Collins, and Li-Young Lee. In addition to words, Spencer is a fervent tennis player and snowboarder.
McKinley Dirks
McKinley Dirks is a poet and greeting card editor who lives in Northwest Arkansas. Her work has appeared in The Amethyst Review and Ekstasis. While getting her B.A. in English, she served as the editor-in-chief for Shards of Light, a student-run literary magazine, and has been enthralled with the lit mag community ever since. Her favorite poets are Morri Creech, Christian Wiman, and Mary Oliver. Alongside writing ekphrastic poetry and doting on her three-year-old corgi, Bentley, McKinley hosts a weekly writing group with other alumni and writers from her university.
Engage with other poets to give and receive critique on your work