Poem Titles Poetry Workshop: Sharpen Your Titles | Aug 2027 Online

Sharpening Your Poem and Book Titles Writing Workshop: Titles and Epigraphs That Do the Heavy Lifting with John Sibley Williams

Begins Wednesday, August 11, 2027
Class will meet once via Zoom on Wednesday, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM ET

🌍 Class Times by Time Zone:

• Los Angeles (PDT): 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
• Chicago (CDT): 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
• New York (EDT): 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Now Enrolling!

Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button to talk with us.

Instructor John Sibley Williams is the author of nine poetry collections, including Scale Model of a Country at Dawn (Cider Press Review Poetry Award), The Drowning House (Elixir Press Poetry Award), As One Fire Consumes Another (Orison Poetry Prize), Skin Memory (Backwaters Prize, University of Nebraska Press), skycrape (WaterSedge Poetry Chapbook Contest), and Summon (JuxtaProse Chapbook Prize). His book Sky Burial: New & Selected Poems is forthcoming in translation from the Portuguese press do lado esquerdo. A thirty-five-time Pushcart nominee, John serves as editor of The Inflectionist Review and Poetry Editor at Kelson Books. Previous publishing credits include Best American Poetry, Yale Review, Verse Daily, North American Review, Prairie Schooner, and TriQuarterly.

Who is this class for?

This online poetry workshop is for poets of all experience levels who want to sharpen their poem and book titles, enhancing their potency, metaphorical value, and emotion, and who want to learn to use epigraphs well so they provide the right context for the poem.

What to expect:

Join award-winning poet John Sibley Williams for a two-hour generative writing workshop that examines how the right title sets a poem up for success. Together we will explore how titles (and epigraphs) can do the heavy lifting: working on multiple levels, informing every stanza, tightening arguments, and providing a container for tension, revelation, and economy.

This online writing class pairs close study with hands-on practice, so you will leave writing titles so strong that readers return to them after the poem is over. The workshop includes:

• A two-hour session with poem exploration and Q&A
• Plenty of time to experiment with all-new titles for your poems
• Various prompts and writing activities
• Active discussion of sample poems from diverse contemporary poets
• A chance to engage more intimately with a small, focused writing community

What are the writing goals?

In this course, students will sharpen and revise their own poem and book titles through a variety of prompt-based activities. This creative writing course is generative and discussion-based; no work is submitted for feedback.

Readings

All materials are provided in an extensive handout and workbook with samples, information, tips, and prompts. No books are needed.

COURSE OUTLINE

Session (Wednesday, August 11): Using keywords and details in the poem; borrowing from others and repetition; referring to the poem’s context; title language use; formatting the title; titles and copyright law for poets; coming up with evocative book titles; using epigraphs.

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• Write titles so strong readers will return to them after the poem is over
• Reframe your thinking about the importance of a title
• Gain confidence in building context before the first stanza
• Learn how using metaphor as title can act as a vehicle for commentary
• Come up with evocative book titles and understand titles and copyright law for poets
• Use epigraphs to provide the right context for a poem

PAYMENT OPTIONS:

Tuition is $99 USD. You can pay for the course in full or use Shop Pay or Affirm to pay over time with equal Monthly Payments. Both options are available at checkout.

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:

• Instructor: John Sibley Williams
• Begins Wednesday, August 11, 2027
• Class will meet once via Zoom on Wednesday, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM ET
• Tuition is $99 USD.