{"product_id":"ada-limon-everyday-poetry-writing-workshop-online","title":"Ada Limón: How the Everyday Becomes a Poem — 6-Week Online Poetry Workshop with Renee Emerson Starts Monday, November 2nd, 2026","description":"\u003ch2\u003eAda Limón Poetry Workshop: Everyday Poems | Nov 2026 Online\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAda Limón Poetry Writing Workshop: How the Everyday Becomes a Poem with Renee Emerson\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBegins Monday, November 2, 2026\u003cbr\u003eClass will meet weekly via Wet Ink (asynchronous, with no set meeting times)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlease note: the class pauses for the week of November 23 (Thanksgiving) and resumes Monday, November 30, concluding the week of December 14.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNow Enrolling!\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAny questions about this class? Use the Chat Button to talk with us.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInstructor Renee Emerson is the author of the poetry collections \u003cem\u003eKeeping Me Still, Threshing Floor, \u003c\/em\u003eand\u003cem\u003e Church Ladies\u003c\/em\u003e. She is also the author of the chapbook \u003cem\u003eThe Commonplace Misfortunes of Everyday Plants\u003c\/em\u003e and the middle-grade novel \u003cem\u003eWhy Silas Miller Must Learn to Ride a Bike\u003c\/em\u003e. She holds an MFA in poetry from Boston University, where she was also awarded the Academy of American Poets Prize. She lives in the Midwest with her husband and children.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWho is this class for?\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis online poetry workshop is for poets at any level who want to write more compelling poems from the ordinary experiences, observations, and moments of their everyday lives. Open to all levels, the class sends students away with new poems, practical craft techniques, and a deeper understanding of how Ada Limón transforms everyday life into poetry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat to expect:\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat can an ordinary day give us to write about? In this six-week poet study, we'll turn to Ada Limón's poetry to explore how close attention to the everyday can become powerful, surprising poetry. Through close reading and generative writing exercises, we'll study Limón's use of image, sensory detail, conversational voice, syntax, sound, repetition, line breaks, metaphor, and the poetic turn. We'll consider how she moves from the specific and ordinary (a body, an animal, a landscape, a relationship, an observation) toward larger questions about love, mortality, identity, desire, and what it means to be alive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRather than simply discussing Limón's poems, this poetry writing workshop uses them as a practical craft toolbox. Each week, you'll move from close reading into practice, adapting the techniques you discover in her work to your own subjects and voice. The goal is not to write \"like Ada Limón,\" but to become more attentive to the choices available to you as an individual poet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis creative writing course runs on Wet Ink, so you can complete each week's work on your own schedule. You'll submit one piece each week and receive writing feedback from the instructor within 72 hours. You'll also exchange peer feedback with classmates during Weeks 4 and 6. By the end of this online writing class, you'll have new work, a set of practical tools for generating and revising poems, and a deeper sense of how attention to the ordinary can open into poems with greater emotional and imaginative reach.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat are the writing goals?\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this course, students will write new poems throughout the six weeks and substantially revise one poem using the craft techniques we study. Students will produce:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e5–6 new poem drafts, generated through the weekly craft exercises\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e1 substantially revised poem, developed from work written during the course\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e1 polished poem suitable for sharing or submitting, revised using the craft techniques explored throughout the class\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA personal craft checklist identifying the Ada Limón techniques you find most useful for your own writing and revision practice\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach weekly submission receives written instructor feedback within 72 hours, and students give and receive peer feedback during Weeks 4 and 6.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eReadings\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReadings may include excerpts from Ada Limón's \u003cem\u003eThe Carrying\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Hurting Kind\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eBright Dead Things\u003c\/em\u003e, as well as the individual poems \"How to Triumph Like a Girl\" and \"Instructions on Not Giving Up.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStudents will read selected poems from the three collections rather than the books in their entirety. All assigned poems will be provided as excerpts or through links to authorized sources where appropriate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCOURSE OUTLINE\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWeek 1 (begins November 2): Attention — Making the Ordinary Worth Noticing\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe'll begin with Limón's extraordinary attention to the everyday: objects, animals, landscapes, errands, bodies, and fleeting moments. Through close reading, we'll examine how specificity and sensory detail make ordinary subjects feel newly visible. Students will complete an observation exercise and draft a poem rooted in something they might normally overlook.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTexts:\u003c\/strong\u003e Selected poems from \u003cem\u003eBright Dead Things\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Hurting Kind\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWeek 2 (begins November 9): Voice — Making the Conversational Poem Sing\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe'll examine Limón's distinctive conversational voice and how she balances natural speech with deliberate poetic choices. We'll look closely at diction, syntax, repetition, sound, rhythm, and line breaks. Students will experiment with writing in their own speaking voice while making that voice more intentionally poetic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTexts:\u003c\/strong\u003e Selected poems from \u003cem\u003eThe Carrying\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Hurting Kind\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWeek 3 (begins November 16): Image — Letting the Concrete Carry the Abstract\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLimón frequently allows physical details (bodies, animals, weather, landscapes, objects) to carry emotional and philosophical weight. We'll explore how imagery can communicate what a speaker doesn't explicitly say and how specific images can keep a poem from becoming overly abstract or explanatory. Students will write a poem built around a central image and practice replacing explanation with concrete detail.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTexts:\u003c\/strong\u003e Selected poems from \u003cem\u003eBright Dead Things\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Carrying\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo class the week of November 23 — Thanksgiving break. Class resumes Monday, November 30.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWeek 4 (begins November 30): The Turn — When a Poem Changes Direction\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe'll study the moment when Limón's poems shift from observation into surprise, reflection, humor, revelation, or emotional depth. Students will identify the turns in several poems and experiment with different kinds of turns in their own work. The week's writing exercise will begin with a simple observation and deliberately move somewhere unexpected.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTexts:\u003c\/strong\u003e \"How to Triumph Like a Girl,\" \"Instructions on Not Giving Up,\" and selected poems from \u003cem\u003eThe Hurting Kind\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWeek 5 (begins December 7): The Body and the Everyday — Making Personal Experience Larger\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe'll explore Limón's use of the body, relationships, aging, desire, illness, nature, and daily life to approach larger questions about mortality, love, identity, and what it means to be human. Students will write from a personal experience while looking for the larger question or tension underneath the immediate subject.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTexts:\u003c\/strong\u003e Selected poems from \u003cem\u003eThe Carrying\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Hurting Kind\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWeek 6 (begins December 14): Revision and Transformation — Making the Poem More Fully Itself\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn our final week, we'll bring together the techniques we've studied (attention, voice, image, sound, and the turn) and consider how Limón revises and shapes a poem into its final form. Students will choose one poem written during the course, revise it substantially using the craft tools from the class, and reflect on which techniques have become useful to their own poetic practice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTexts:\u003c\/strong\u003e A final selection of Limón poems chosen to revisit and compare across the collections.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCOURSE TAKEAWAYS:\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e5–6 new poem drafts generated from weekly craft exercises rooted in everyday experience\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOne substantially revised poem and one polished poem ready to share or submit\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePractical techniques for image, sensory detail, conversational voice, syntax, sound, and line breaks\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA working understanding of the poetic turn and how to move a poem from observation into surprise or revelation\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA personal craft checklist of Ada Limón techniques to carry into your future writing and revision\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis class is asynchronous, meaning you complete the weekly assignments on your own schedule. There are no set meeting times to allow for greater participation; your cohort will consist of writers from different time zones, which allows for a wonderful diversity of voices.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlong with your weekly deadlines, there is plenty of interaction with the instructor and your peers within Wet Ink, our dedicated online classroom. Craft materials, lectures, reading assignments, and writing prompts are all available through the online classroom. Students also post work and provide and receive feedback in the online classroom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou can finish the work as you see fit, week to week, which is perfect for any schedule. There are discussion questions each week inspired by the assigned readings and topics in the lecture notes. Students are encouraged to take these wherever they find most compelling and\/or useful. The instructor engages with these discussions throughout the week, and you will receive feedback on all assigned writing activities.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHOW DOES WET INK WORK?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWet Ink was built and designed specifically for online writing classes. Wet Ink is private, easy to use, and very interactive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003ePAYMENT OPTIONS:\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTuition is $445 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Writing Workshops Org","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50617937723640,"sku":null,"price":619000.0,"currency_code":"KRW","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0287\/3917\/4532\/files\/Ada_Limon_How_the_Everyday_Becomes_a_Poem.png?v=1790175019","url":"https:\/\/writingworkshops.com\/en-kr\/products\/ada-limon-everyday-poetry-writing-workshop-online","provider":"Writing Workshops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}