BEGINS APRIL 1ST!
A COURSE TO CELEBRATE NATIONAL POETRY MONTH AND TAP INTO ALL THAT POETRY CAN DO FOR YOU Dear , Would you like your writing -- poetry and/or prose -- to be more graceful, more powerful, more beautiful? Do you sometimes find poetry confusing or intimidating and wish you could "crack the code"?
Or do you enjoy writing and reading poems, but want a more thorough understanding of and experience with writing good poetry? Then this poetry extravaganza is for you. Expect a lively good time exploring what makes a poem
a poem, gaining the knowledge you need to confidently write and revise poetry, and strengthening your writing skills in all genres. You'll also have the opportunity to ask any question you've ever had about poetry but were afraid to ask. It would be a joy and an honor to share what rocks about poetry with
you! Love and light, Maureen
HERE'S WHAT YOU GET: - Three 90-minute lively, interactive online poetry classes that you can participate in live on the phone or on your computer, plus audio replays if you can't make it or want to listen again later
- 23 poetry creation tools
You'll receive one in your email inbox each weekday in April, in honor of National Poetry month, plus an extra bonus tool on May 1 -- use them as you get them, use them when you can, use them over and over to create poems.
Each tool zeroes in on one aspect of poetry and provides an innovative method to approach writing a poem. Many of them are great
for creating prose, too. The tools include:
* a purpose, so you're clear what you will learn
* background information when helpful
* "how-to" directions to create a poem
* an example that illustrates the poetry tool in action
* a short reflection to solidify the concepts covered
* "Hone Your Craft" suggestions for further exploration
* a short reflection to solidify the concepts covered
- A PDF document of each tool that you can print or save on your computer
- An audio recording of each tool, so you can
learn by listening and/or reading
- Instruction on the role of audience, reading like a writer, and the process of revision, including a handy Revision Checkpoint Chart -- this information can be applied to strengthen your prose as well as poetry
- Additional poetry resources
- An e-book that contains the information and resources covered, as well as your 23 poetry creation tools
- A private Facebook community just for Poetry Rocks! participants, so you can share, learn, ask questions, etc.
WHERE: From the comfort of your own home, via phone, web, or replay WHEN: The three classes are from 7 to 8:30 pm, Tuesdays, April 1, 15, and 29, and are available via your telephone (we can talk to each other, just like in a live class), your computer (you can listen, and "talk" by sending me typed
messages), and/or as an audio recording, so you can listen to the class, or listen to it again, anytime you want PLUS a new poetry creation tool will arrive in
your inbox each weekday morning in April, to be used at your convenience. The tools and corresponding audios will also be available on a special webpage specially made just for Poetry Rocks participants. BONUS: All interested
participants will be entered in a drawing to get a 750-word (or shorter) poem critiqued. The six winning poems will be shared in class to illustrate the revision process. COST: $95 (and if, within the first week of participation, you're not finding Poetry Rocks! easy to use and of value, just let me know and
your cost will be refunded) TO REGISTER FOR POETRY ROCKS: Click here to register via credit card.
Or email info@wordplaynow.com or call 704-494-9961 to make sure there's a spot and arrange to pay via check or PayPal.
WORDS ABOUT MAUREEN'S TEACHING BY WORDPLAYER BARBARA MAYER:
Thanks to Maureen, I'm making time to read poetry every day and jot
down my reflections and ideas.
"I have been writing and publishing for many years, but recently I became discouraged and disillusioned. My prevailing attitude toward writing was 'Why bother?' I struggled to make time and space for writing in my ever-more-cluttered schedule. Maureen's classes showed me that
writing doesn't have to be drudgery -- it can be as easy as jotting down my thoughts while waiting in a doctor's office or drinking my morning coffee. Maureen's energy and creativity have been an inspiration to me. Her never-failing enthusiasm for writing and the creative life are contagious. Thanks to Maureen, I'm making time to read poetry every day and jot down my reflections and ideas. I'm thinking about another book. And I feel more in touch with my deepest thoughts and emotions, the same
way I felt at The Clearing."
Barbara Mayer
Barbara explains, "The setting of the poem below is The Clearing in Ellison Bay, Wisconsin, a folk school that offers classes in the arts, humanities, and nature study. My husband Don and I took a week-long class in Landscape Photography there. During that same week, another group studied 'Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.' On the last night of our stay, we shared our photos while the other group shared their drawings. The drawing students put up the sign
'please leave your left brain at the door' as a humorous comment on their teacher and her methods. (They drew their subject matter upside-down to activate the right brain!) Jens Jensen, whose words are quoted in the poem's epigraph, was the Danish-born architect who founded the Clearing. It is a beautiful outdoor retreat surrounded by forests and meadows filled with wildflowers, wildlife, and birds, including the doe and wood thrush I encountered. The whole time I was there I really did feel in
touch with my creative, right-brain self."
THE CLEARING
"One can love only a few things in life,
and it is the things we love
which take our whole interest
and out of which
we can bring forth the best we have." ~ Jens Jensen
Down the path to the cliff house
hunting for ladyslippers
in the spring-ripe ground,
I heard a twig snap, looked up
to face a wide-eyed doe, motionless,
nostrils quivering in the fragrant air.
Then she was gone, trees swaying
to mark her leavetaking. I stood
a minute, wanting another look,
then tiptoed on, moving
to woodland
music, the sweet pure notes
of a woodthrush calling to its mate.
I reached the hut to find a homemade sign:
"Please leave your left brain at the door."
~ Barbara J. Mayer
"The Clearing" first appeared in Lyricist.
TO REGISTER FOR POETRY ROCKS: Click here to register via credit card. Or email info@wordplaynow.com or call 704-494-9961 to make sure there's a spot and arrange to pay via check or PayPal. MAUREEN RYAN GRIFFIN, an award-winning poetry and nonfiction writer, is the author of Spinning Words into Gold, a Hands-On Guide to the Craft of Writing, a grief workbook entitled I Will Never Forget You, and two collections of
poetry, This Scatter of Blossoms and When the Leaves Are in the Water. She believes, as author Julia Cameron says, "We are meant to midwife dreams for one another."
Maureen also believes that serious "word work" requires serious WordPlay, as play is how we humans best learn -- and perform. What she loves best is witnessing all the other dreams that come true for her clients along the way. Language, when used with intentionality and focus, is, after all, serious fuel for joy. Here's to yours! |
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