Born to a Mexican mother and Jewish father, Rosebud Ben-Oni is the author of several collections of poetry, including If This Is the Age We End Discovery (March 2021), which won the Alice James Award and was a Finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. In 2023, she received a Café Royal Cultural Foundation grant to write The Atomic Sonnets, a full-length poetry collection based on her chapbook 20 Atomic Sonnets (Black Warrior Review, 2020). Her work appears in POETRY, The American Poetry Review, Academy of American Poets, Tin House, Guernica, Electric Literature, among others. Her poem “Dancing with Kiko on the Moon” was recently featured in Tracy K. Smith’s The Slowdown.

How might the lyrical aspects in dramas and melodramas move beyond everyday language itself? Which contemporary poets are writing about melodrama and dramatic films or are influenced by drama itself today?

In this six-week online workshop, we'll identify how contemporary poets use films about heartbreak, trauma and loss in their work, and how filmmakers enrich their craft with poetry and poetic moments. Students will explore the influence of film in their own work, drawing inspiration from Lee Ann Roripaugh, Danez Smith, Paisley Rekdal, Chen Chen, Dora Malech, Dayna Patterson and more.

Students will respond with poems of their own to weekly prompts, challenging and subverting existing aspects of the melodrama such as themes of pathos, moral polarization, deux ex machina and sensationalism.

*All work will be found online, so no textbook needed.

COURSE OUTLINE

Week 1: Welcome to the Class! Class Overview Reading & Craft Exercise #1 “What I Learned from the Incredible Hulk” by Aimee Nezhukumatathil In-class Writing: Superhero Exercise Reading & Craft Exercise #2 Homage to Sharon Stone" by Lynn Emanuel In-Class Writing: Sensuality Exercise Craft Exercise #3: Musical Extravagances

Week 2: What is Melodrama & Pathos Readings+ Media • "What Is Melodrama?" (The Case for Global Film • "The Single Difference Between Cinematic Drama and Melodrama" Ken Miyamoto (Screencraft) • "A Filmmaker's Guide to: Pathos" Annie Kapur (Geeks) • "Corydon & Alexis" D. A. Powell (The Poetry Foundation) • "Poem in Noisy Mouthfuls" Chen Chen (The Poetry Foundation) • Scene from Brokeback Mountain • Beach Scene from Moonlight Between Chiron and Kevin • Clip from Sebastián Lelio’s Una Mujer Fantastica (2017) Writing Prompt #1: Take My Breath Away

Week 3: Good Vs Evil: Moral Polarization & Other Predicament Readings + Media • Helpful Guide: Breakdown of Stock Characters in Melodramas • "Everybody Comes to Rick’s: “Casablanca” on the Big Screen" David Denby (New Yorker) • "The Silence of the Lambs - Multiple Layered Pulp Melodrama" Gregory Desilet • "Hysterical, melodramatic and staggeringly beautiful: Black Swan" Barnaby Walter (The Edge) • "Black Swan" Stephanie Young (The Poetry Foundation) • "Sean Penn Anti-Ode" Dean Young (The Poetry Foundation) • "Don't Make a Movie About Me" Johnny Cash (The Poetry Foundation) • Scene from Black Swan | Another Scene • Quid Pro Quo Scene from The Silence of the Lambs Writing Prompt #2: Grey Areas

Week 4: Deux Ex Machina Readings + Media • "What is Deus Ex Machina?" Oregon State University • "What is Deus Ex Machina? (Aristotle's Poetics)" Carneades • "The 15 Biggest Deus Ex Machina Moments In Film History, Ranked By How Crazy They Were" (poor T-Rex, he can't seem to win) Screen Rant • "horror movie: bees" Patrick Kindig (The Journal) • "Superheroes as 2004 Volkswagen Passat: A Double Sonnet" Bruce Convoy (The Academy of American Poets) • "Jewel Thief Movie" Patricia Lockwood (The Poetry Foundation) Writing Prompt #3: "God from the Machine"

Week 5: Sensationalism Readings + Media • "(Cinema)" Daniel Tobin (The Poetry Foundation) • "Rapture" Martha Ronk (The Academy of American Poets) • "Old Boy" A. Van Jordan (The Academy of American Poets) • "Sensationalism of Trauma in American Film and Literature" Clare M. Nee (Inquiries Journal: Social Sciences, Arts + Humanities) • "Is Sensationalism Good?" Judith Roberts • "The Exorcist: Radical Therapy" Bill Van Wert (Jump Cut) • "Dead of Night - the movie that changed the universe" Simon Singh (The Guardian) Writing Prompt #4: "Phenomenalism"

Week 6: Film Noir Readings + Media • Film Noir - a VERY detailed look into the genre filmsite • "The 100 Best Film Noirs of All Time" Paste Magazine • "Film Noir" Adam Saroyan (The Poetry Foundation) • "Femme Fatale" Jeannine Hall Gailey (Verse Daily) • "The Lights Go Down at the Angelika" Donna Masini (The Poetry Foundation) • “Llorando from Mullholand Drive” • "Track of the Day: 'Llorando' by Rebekah del Rio" Leinka Cruz (The Atlantic) • "Drive Theory" Melissa Anderson (ARTFORUM) Writing Prompt #5: Moododd

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• Utilize elements of melodrama and pathos in your own poetry.
• Explore the intricate and complex aspects of moral polarization and good vs evil to write more candid work.
• Identify the concept of Deus ex machina and subvert its literary use.
• Discuss and pursue new ways to write through and about heartbreak and unidentifiable relationships.
• Study examples of sensationalism and film noir to push the boundaries of tone, voice and mood of your poems.
  

TESTIMONIALS:

"When I started Rosebud’s workshop, I was looking to nurture a flare for creative writing that was in serious danger of dying out. Luckily, she was the perfect teacher to stoke that fire. Beyond putting together a syllabus that stretched our concepts of what poetry could be, she encouraged me and my peers to dip into the strange and the silly as we interpreted the prompts we were given. Her celebration of our growth and her thoughtful questions also gave me a model for feedback that I continue to employ when working through new writing with friends. I recommend to just about everyone I know that they try taking a workshop with Rosebud: she's a poet's poet, a teacher's teacher, and a champion for the kind of exploration, creativity, and fun that I needed to fall in love with writing again." -Patrick Mullen-Coyoy, former student

"Poetry workshop with Rosebud was a wonderfully exciting and supportive space where I felt safe enough to experiment and take risks with my poems. Her writing prompts provoked me to ask deeper questions of myself and the class helped me grow immensely, both as a reader and a poet. The syllabus was rich in poetry, essays, music, and videos that encouraged lively classroom discussion and powerful, engaged writing. What strikes me most about Rosebud is her big-hearted generosity and genuine interest and delight in having her students succeed." -Yamini Pathak, former student

"Rosebud is by far one of the best mentors I’ve had in a workshop setting. Her materials are thought-provoking and inspirational, and they challenge students to explore, play, and experiment. Her comments are always insightful and she creates a supportive environment where students are encouraged to be themselves, as well as to interact with each other both within and beyond the workshop. She’s generous in her feedback and with the time she dedicates to each student and is always willing to answer questions and help in any way she can." -Leonora Simonovis, Former student, winner of the Prairie Schooner Prize

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE: