How can a class offer 12 poets with different voices, from different cultures, and different eras as icons of good writing in 3 hours? It does have some degree of difficulty, but it’s not impossible. Poet Jim Moreno offers this class in June for beginning and seasoned poets with the advantage of loving the research he works at for hour after hour: I bring poetry, film clips, quotes and poetry prompts into the class syllabus that inspire me. You see if I’m not inspired then why would the poets in my class be inspired. The research put into the class syllabus is the key to my poetry workshops. When the class is said and done, poets have the resource of the syllabus to continue with hours of enjoyable reading. This 3-hour class is divided into two 90-minute segments. The first segment consists of poets born in the 19th century. William Butler Yeats, born in 1865, James Weldon Johnson, born in 1871, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, born in 1872, Anna Akhmatova, born in 1888, Federico Garcia Lorca, born in 1898 are included. You might ask if the inclusion of an Irish poet, two icons of the Harlem Renaissance, a Russian poet and a Spanish poet might make the poetry broth much too rich? Or, one could also ask if the rainbow of choices in an existential sky might lead participants to a hearty stew with delicious spices. The second 90-minute segment has poets from the 20th Century. Starting with Czeslaw Milosz, born in 1911, Gwendolyn Brooks, in 1917, Allen Ginsberg, Frank O’Hara, and David Wagoner, all born in 1926, Lucille Clifton, in 1936, and Nikki Giovanni, in 1943, we have named all 12 poets who will harness poems, film clips, and quotes to pull our poetry vehicle to the lodge of the Muse. This class is not a critique class. This is a poetry workshop for composing original poetry. A safe place with the foundation of a Container of respect and dignity for all participants no matter what culture or color of skin. For more information visit: writeyourstorynow.org
