Instructor Lauren Brazeal Garza is the author of five books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction including her memoir-in-verse, Gutter (YesYes Books, 2018), which chronicles her homelessness as a teenager, and her literary horror novel, The Devotee (forthcoming), which was inspired by her experiences as a queer woman living in poverty after she aged out of the foster system. She earned her M.F.A in creative writing from Bennington College, and her Ph.D. in Literature from The University of Texas at Dallas with a specialty in testimonial literature and narratives from marginalized voices. A proud Texan for the past decade, she recently moved from Dallas to the isolated pine forests of far East Texas.

In this two-and-a-half-hour poetry intensive, we will discover new avenues in our poems through experimentation in form. First, we will first explore the art of persona poetry: discussing how the "I" in persona poems differs from the "lyric I,” and how the safe distance created by this difference invites new ideas and ways of thinking in our verse.

We will also venture into the exciting wilderness of erasure poems—whether generated by redacting found literature, or from our own written words. We will explore representative poems from poets like Louise Gluck, Eduardo Corral, Philip Metres, and Lisa Huffaker. Our discussions of each form will be followed by a generative prompt.  

During our time together, participants will have the opportunity to read their drafts to the class following our generative prompts. I will also offer additional suggested reading so participants can continue their exploration of these forms, at the close of the course. We will leave the course with a better understanding of two popular experimental poetic forms, and two new drafts of poems that experiment with form.

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• We We will study and learn various techniques used by contemporary poets who experiment with form.
• Each student will leave the course with two new drafts of poems that experiment with form based on generative prompts. 
• Each student will have the opportunity to read their responses to the generative prompts a supportive audience of peers.
• We will leave the course with a better toolbox for experimenting with form in our poems and thinking about ways in which we might explore and understand experimentation in the work of other writers.
  

TESTIMONIALS:

“I love love loved this course! It was super fun and I had a great time. I especially appreciated how much freedom we were given for the writing prompts, and the structure of the workshop and peer comments were so effective and helpful.” -David R.

“This was one of the most charming and well-put-together courses I've had the pleasure of taking. Discussions were open and full of ideas, coupled with informative lectures. If you participated in class, the rewards were clear and obvious. Ms. Brazeal Garza was an excellent teacher for this subject and genuinely had me interested in new topics.” -Tiffany W.

"Lauren is phenomenal! She is extremely passionate, kind, and smart. She has the student's best interests at heart and makes great points on improving our writing. One of the best writing instructors I've had. I hope more writers take her classes in the future. She is also very organized and is a great overall teacher" -Megan K.

"This was most definitely one of my favorites from this year. The course was extremely flexible, and I found substantial value from the course material” -Mark L.

“I enjoyed everything about this class! Lauren did a wonderful job engaging us and giving us the space to grow and improve as writers. I'll definitely take more courses from her in the future." -Troy N.

"Lauren gave me room to grow and showcase what I can achieve as both a creative writer and reader. I'm so grateful for her class and her insights, which have genuinely made me a better writer." -Alex S.