Writing Our Lives: The Poetic Self & Transformation // with Dr. Liz Burke-Cravens

Poetry offers a unique opportunity to deepen and broaden our sense of self, of others, and our place in the world. It provides a unique way for us to explore the raw material of our lives—the taboo, the unspoken, and the painful and beautiful truths of our existence. In this class, we will explore reading poetry as transformative engagement and writing poetry as transformative practice. This class will focus on three main areas: explore our own responses to reading of a variety of contemporary poets’ writings on themes such as childhood, grief and death, adolescence, and love and intimacy; elements of the craft, including diction, metaphor, voice, style, imagery; and generating a new body of work.

Week by Week

Week 1: Reading and writing poetry as transformative processes.

Week 2: The image/writing and knowing.

Week 3: Simile and metaphor/writing about family.

Week 4: Line breaks/writing about death and grief.

Week 5: Voice and style/writing about love and the erotic.

Week 6: Revising and polishing your poems.

Who Should Take This Class

This class is appropriate for those with any amount of experience writing poetry, from those who are interested in learning more and might be a bit nervous about it, to writers with years of experience who want to generate new work and brush up on elements of craft and be exposed to new contemporary writers.

Format

This is an online class. Each week, a new week will open full of resources, reflections, discussion questions, and writing prompts. Students should expect to spend 3-5 hours per week perusing resources and readings, answering a discussion question, engaging in several writing prompts, and responding to peers’ work. From our interactions, we sustain a welcoming and inspiring community together.

About the Teacher

Dr. Liz Burke-Cravens is a poet, educator, writing coach, passionate scholar and determined optimist. As an educator she is committed to critical and transformative approaches to teaching and learning. Her writings have appeared in Ireland and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History: A Multidisciplinary Encyclopedia, Volume 2, The Irish Herald, Soulstice: A Feminist Anthology Volume II, and Sandy River Review. She lives in Oakland, California with her wife, Amber, and their two dogs, Schmoopie and Mr. Bits.