Starts Sunday, September 8th, 2024

Open to All writers!

Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button (lower left) to talk with us.

Taught by Lauren Davis, the author of the forthcoming short story collection The Nothing (YesYes Books), the poetry collection Home Beneath the Church (Fernwood Press), the Eric Hoffer Grand Prize short-listed When I Drowned (Kelsay Books), and the chapbooks Each Wild Thing’s Consent (Poetry Wolf Press), The Missing Ones (Winter Texts), and Sivvy (Whittle Micro-Press). She holds an MFA from the Bennington College Writing Seminars. She is a former Editor in Residence at The Puritan’s Town Crier, and she is the winner of the Landing Zone Magazine’s Flash Fiction Contest. Her stories, essays, poetry, interviews, and reviews have appeared in numerous literary publications and anthologies, including Prairie Schooner, Spillway, Poet Lore, Ibbetson Street, Ninth Letter, and elsewhere. Davis lives with her husband and two black cats on the Olympic Peninsula in a Victorian seaport community.

Mary Oliver's poetry lives on, blessing her readers with hope and tenderness.

Mary Oliver was an “indefatigable guide to the natural world,” wrote Maxine Kumin in the Women’s Review of Books, “particularly to its lesser-known aspects.”

The Poetry Foundation celebrates Mary Oliver as a prolific writer of poetry and prose whose main themes focused on the intersection between the human and the natural world and the limits of human consciousness and language in articulating such a meeting. 

During this workshop, the class will be provided with a variety of prompts inspired by Oliver's writing. Participants will explore Oliver's writing advice and craft and participate in discussions.

By the end of the workshop, participants will have written four poems and received both instructor and peer feedback. Participants will leave with a deeper appreciation of Oliver's poetry and a handful of newly written and workshopped poems.

Davis will provide a packet that will include select poems and essays written by Mary Oliver.

COURSE OUTLINE:

• Week One: An Introduction to Mary Oliver's Work / Writing Prompts
• Week Two: Readings and Discussion / Writing Prompt / Turn in Poem
• Week Three: Readings and Discussion / Writing Prompt / Turn in Poem / Provide Feedback
• Week Four: Readings and Discussion / Writing Prompt / Turn in Poem / Provide Feedback
• Week Five: Readings and Discussion / Writing Prompt / Turn in Poem / Provide Feedback
• Week Six: Readings and Discussion / Provide Feedback
  

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• Explore Oliver's writing advice and habits.
• Read and discuss Oliver's poetry.
• Create four new poems.
• Receive private instructor feedback on poems.
• Receive and give peer feedback on poems.
  

TESTIMONIALS:

"This class exceeded my expectations. I loved all of the creative exercises we were given. I felt like I learned so much in a short amount of time." -former student

"I loved this class, particularly Lauren's suggestions to revise, break apart, and rethink words." -former student

"I'm so happy I signed up for this class. My favorite parts were Lauren's suggestions for intensive practice and her unusual revision techniques." -former student

"I loved Lauren's Break Your Poem class, and I found her ideas on rewriting your poem as a lipogram and fitting my poem into another poet's created form." -former student

"This class totally exceeded my expectations. Now I have so many more tools as a poet. I would highly recommend this class." -former student

"I loved how the exercises built on each other, and had potential to be blended. Five of five stars." -former student

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:

This class is entirely asynchronous, which means you complete the weekly assignments on your own schedule. There are no set meeting times in order to allow for greater participation; your cohort will consist of writers from across different time zones, which allows for a wonderful diversity of voices.

Along with your weekly deadlines, you can interact with Lauren 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 can also post work and provide and receive feedback within the online classroom environment.

You can complete the work as you see fit week-to-week, so it is perfect for any schedule. Each week, discussion questions are inspired by the assigned readings and topics in the lecture notes. Students are encouraged to take these wherever is most compelling and/or useful for them. Lauren engages with these discussions throughout the week, and you will receive feedback from all assigned writing activities.

HOW DOES WET INK WORK?

Wet Ink was built and designed specifically for online writing classes. Wet Ink is private, easy to use, and very interactive. You can learn more about the Wet Ink platform by Watching a Class Demo.

• Instructor: Lauren Davis
• Class starts Sunday, September 8th, 2024
  
• Course is fully ONLINE; students can work according to their own schedule within weekly deadlines. Once you have enrolled the instructor will send you a link to our online classroom, provided via Wet Ink.