by Writing Workshops Staff
12 hours ago
There’s something intimate, almost alchemical, about the art of poetry—how a blank page transforms into a vessel of meaning through just a few deliberate words. Kristi Stout’s Sculpted Words: An Introduction to Poetry is your entryway into this magical craft.
A celebrated poet whose work has appeared in Poetry, The Rumpus, and Small Orange, Stout approaches poetry with the kind of precision and curiosity that turns even the most hesitant beginner into a confident wordsmith. In this four-week course, she invites students to explore the very essence of what makes a poem—from its physical structure to its emotional resonance—while discovering the joy of crafting verses of their own.
This isn’t about mastering poetry overnight. It’s about learning to observe, question, and experiment with language. Week by week, Stout gently guides students through the foundations: understanding the poetic line, the weight of white space, and the subtle ways poems speak to the heart, mind, body, and spirit.
What sets Sculpted Words apart is its thoughtful approach to feedback. Rather than traditional peer workshops, students will submit their weekly poems directly to Stout, who provides personalized, generative responses to nurture each writer’s growth. This creates a space free of intimidation, where experimentation thrives, and poetic voices begin to take shape.
By the end of the course, students will have written 4-8 original poems and gained a new lens through which to see and articulate what makes poetry so singular. With an inspired syllabus drawing from luminaries like Richard Hugo, Aracelis Girmay, Dianne Seuss, and Terrance Hayes, Stout delivers a curated experience that not only educates but awakens.
For anyone ready to sculpt their thoughts into something lasting, Sculpted Words offers more than just instruction—it offers transformation. Kristi Stout doesn’t just teach you to write poems; she teaches you to see the world like a poet, where every word matters and every silence speaks volumes.
Hi Kristi, Please introduce yourself to our audience.
I’m a writer and teacher living in North Carolina. While I’ve tried my hand at other genres, poetry is where I feel most at home. I recently received my MFA in poetry from Virginia Tech and I’m working on my first full-length manuscript. I truly enjoy teaching and have worked with almost every age, all the way from toddlers to adults.
What made you want to teach this specific class? Is it something you are focusing on in your own writing practice? Have you noticed a need to focus on this element of craft?
I wanted to offer a true beginner’s class because I think it offers room to consider poetry from a more philosophical point of view. Poetry necessitates that we let go of linear thinking and “logic” as the default, which is at odds with the majority of our encounters with written language. What happens on the other side of what we’ve known? This is the most precious thing poetry has taught me, and my poems that are truly “successful” embody this different way of knowing.
Give us a breakdown of how the course is going to go. What can the students expect? What is your favorite part about this class you've dreamed up?
Students can expect to be introduced to a wide variety of poetic voices! We’ll discuss these texts together and, hopefully, students will start to get a better understanding of the kinds of poetic language they are drawn towards. We will have time to experiment with our own writing during classes and time to share what we found with each other.
Students will also get to know their minds. The particulars of their pattern of thinking, the rhythms with which they move through the world. Students will be encouraged to move towards and away from those patterns, in equal measure.
What was your first literary crush?
I randomly picked up “Madame Bovary” when I was young, maybe thirteen. I didn’t have any preconceived concept of its place in the literary landscape and I’m sure I didn’t understand half of it, but I remember being really taken by the intensity.
What are you currently reading?
I’m currently reading “Mysticism” by Simon Critchley, “Poetics of Relation” by Edouard Glissant, and “The Waves” by Virginia Woolf. I’ve been reading the last two for the better part of a year now…taking my time!
How do you choose what you're working on? When do you know it is the next thing you want to write all the way to THE END?
Lately, it has not felt like much of a choice! I’m in the middle of a long poem, and I am a fairly slow writer. But the world I’ve built up is too big to abandon now.
A good test for me is to leave the poem alone for a bit. If I’m still excited by something (anything!) in the poem when I return to it, that’s a good sign for me to keep going until the end. If it has bored me in the interim, I tend to drop it.
Where do you find inspiration?
Encountered images and sounds are big for me. I saw a big group of starlings on the side of the highway the other day. I don’t even know if they were starlings, strictly, but it was what came to me. Beautiful word, starlings! How could you not use that? I carried around the word with me for a while until it became a line. This is usually how inspiration plays out for me.
I also love watching strange movies – nothing but images and sound! I envy that medium sometimes.
What is the best piece of writing wisdom you've received that you can pass along to our readers? How did it impact your work? Why has this advice stuck with you?
I can’t pinpoint this to any particular person, but many times along the way I’ve heard that it’s best to get comfortable with the idea of throwing out a lot of your writing. It’s important, however, to not consider this as a “waste of time.” You were just trying things on, seeing what worked. This makes sitting down to write less stressful, since you know that each thing put down is not so precious. It teaches you humility.
What is your favorite book to recommend on the craft of writing? Why this book?
Early on I was recommended “The Triggering Town” by Richard Hugo. It was a beautiful introduction on how to approach poetry, and allowing yourself to stray from “facts” in order to get at a bigger truth.
Bonus question: What’s your teaching vibe?
I would say -- warm, open, curious.
Here is Kristi's upcoming seminar, Sculpted Words: An Introduction to Poetry. You can sign up now to avoid the waitlist!
