Starts on Wednesday, April 29th, 2026

Class will meet weekly via Zoom on Wednesdays, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM EST

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

Instructor Bio

Born in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York, Tina Cane grew up in the city’s East and West Village. She holds a certificate d’études from the Sorbonne and completed her master’s degree in French literature at the University of Paris X-Nanterre and Middlebury College. The founder/director of Writers-in-the-Schools, RI, Cane served as the poet laureate of Rhode Island (2016-2024). In her capacity as poet laureate, Cane established her state's first youth poetry ambassador program in partnership with the Rhode Island Center for the Book and brought the Poetry-in-Motion program from the New York City Transit System to Rhode Island's statewide buses. Cane is the author of The Fifth Thought (Other Painters Press, 2008), Dear Elena: Letters for Elena Ferrante, poems with art by Esther Solondz (Skillman Books, 2016), Once More With Feeling (Veliz Books 2017), Body of Work (Veliz Books, 2019), and Year of the Murder Hornet (Veliz Books, 2022). She was also a 2020 Poet Laureate Fellow with the Academy of American Poets. Her debut novel-in-verse for young adults, Alma Presses Play (Penguin/Random House), was released in September 2021. Cane is also the creator/ curator of the distance reading series, Poetry is Bread, and the editor of Poetry is Bread: The Anthology (Nirala Press, 2025). Her second verse novel for young readers, Are You Nobody Too? (Penguin/ Random House) was released in August 2024. Cane is also co-host, with Joey Sweeney of the forthcoming podcast, Stay Free.

Who is this class for?

This online poetry workshop is for writers of all levels interested in exploring history through poetry, poetry through history, and the poet's role as witness. Whether you're new to poetry or an experienced writer, this course offers a unique entry point into the craft through the lens of cultural and political moments.

What to expect:

"History is the function of any one of us," Charles Olson wrote. In this generative poetry workshop, you will consider the poet as witness to history and poetry as document. You will read and discuss poets from various periods, places, and traditions to understand how their cultural moments impacted their writing, and what impact their writing exerted on their era and beyond.

This online writing class invites you to act and write as witnesses to your own histories while exploring what "history" means. You will engage with poems by Pablo Neruda, Federico García Lorca, Anne Sexton, Mahmoud Darwish, Claudia Rankine, Anna Akhmatova, Gregory Pardlo, Allen Ginsberg, among others. Each session combines close reading, discussion, and generative writing exercises that respond to the week's historical focus.

The workshop format includes light feedback as poems are shared during class, creating a supportive community of writers exploring the intersection of poetry and historical witness together.

What are the writing goals?

In this course, students will explore and discuss poems by established and contemporary poets, and will produce an original poem during each session. By the end of the six-week workshop, you will have generated six new poems that respond to history and your role as witness.

Readings

Readings will be drawn from a curated packet distributed via email. Poets may include Pablo Neruda, Federico García Lorca, Anne Sexton, Mahmoud Darwish, Claudia Rankine, Anna Akhmatova, Gregory Pardlo, Allen Ginsberg, and others whose work responds to the historical and political moments of their time.

EXAMPLE COURSE OUTLINE

Week 1: Introduction to the Poet as Witness—understanding poetry as document and historical testimony

Week 2: Post-WWI Poetry—exploring how poets responded to the first global conflict and its aftermath

Week 3: Post-WWII Poetry—examining poetry born from the second World War and its cultural reverberations

Week 4: The Sixties—investigating poetry of civil rights, protest, and social upheaval

Week 5: Contemporary Witness—reading poets responding to our current historical moment with new and recent work

Week 6: Writing Your Witness—synthesizing the course themes into your own poetic response to history

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• Explore the intellectual and creative connections between poetry and history
• Learn how cultural and political moments impacted the poems being produced at the time
• Reflect on the impact of poetry on historical and cultural events
• Understand the role of the poet as witness to their era
• Generate six original poems responding to historical themes
• Develop a deeper engagement with your own moment in history through the poetic form

PAYMENT OPTIONS:

Tuition 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.

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:

• Instructor: Tina Cane
  
• Begins Wednesday, April 29, 2026
  
• Class will meet weekly via Zoom on Wednesdays, 6:30–8:30 p.m. EST
  
• Tuition is $445 USD.