To register for the following class, go to www.lsswritingschool.com (Long Story Short School of Writing)

Modern Poetry: Broaching the Avant-Garde
Instructor: Jennifer Delaney

“Poetry is a way of taking life by the throat.”
- Robert Frost

Even if the subject matter of your poem is serious, I hope that this class will be liberating and enjoyable! A defining quality of modern poetry is rebellion against tradition and freedom from gentility; however, a well crafted modern poem is no less intelligent and refined than its more formal predecessors. Good poetry, written from the gut, delights and moves. Occasionally, a poem may be inspired and spontaneous and require little alteration; however, it is my experience that given time and tools, a poet can learn to differentiate that which is universal and powerful from what is mostly personal venting. While fewer rules govern this form and it is does not have the restraints of traditional poetry, that is not a justification for “anything goes.”

I will address concepts such as: stream of consciousness and surrealism as well as play with the elimination of punctuation and capitalization (although that is not a necessary rule of modern poetry). We will craft concrete poems, poems based on dreams as well as others that include free verse with internal rhyme schemes. You will have the option at any time to write a poem emulating the style of a poet.

I will recommend poets to read, because I believe it is important to absorb and analyze great poets in order to learn but also differentiate your own style. We will focus on the writing; but I will include in my e-mail lessons a few poems that relate to our exercise. Further recommended readings will be optional. These poets include (but are not limited to): e. e. cummings, Mary Oliver, Marge Piercy, Linda Pastan, George Herbert, Jarold Ramsey, Denise Levertov, Helen Chasin, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Theodore Roethke, Carl Sandburg and Guillaume Apollinaire.

Class structure: Every week you will be assigned to write a poem based on the theme and I will recommend poets to read who exhibit a similar style (or in some way reflect modernism). During our final week, you will pick a poem that you have written and rewrite it. I will offer suggestions regarding what feels “extra” or can be cut as well as pointing out the lines where you pulled up short and need to flesh out a metaphor. Poetry is subjective, yet often the response to a well written poem is universal.

TESTIMONIAL:
"This (class) was not at all what I expected . . . it was a zillion times better. I was anticipating the class was going to be more of a forum atmosphere, and I was thrilled to find out it was more one on one and done all via e-mail. I felt like I had a private coach! The poet bios were interesting and reading some of their work was very helpful, but by far the most valuable part of the class was your feedback on my poems. The only bad thing is that the class is over!" Karin (student in Modern Poetry - Broaching the Avant-Garde).

Jennifer Delaney's manuscript Stealing Monkey won Colorado University’s
Jovanovich Imaginative Award for best graduate thesis, as well as receiving finalist status in the Nidus Literary Journal Competition. After graduating from CU with a Masters in creative writing/English, she worked as a writing consultant for the CU math department and taught writing at Bixby Elementary School in Boulder. With B.A. degrees in English and dance from the University of California in Santa Barbara, Jennifer began her writing career in New York City where she worked as copy editor for a real estate publishing company, as well as The Diplomatic World News, a United Nations publication. In Los Angeles, she worked in marketing for three years. Jennifer writes for a monthly newspaper and her work has been published in newspapers, literary journals, ezines, and magazines as well as Lucia Capacchion’s The Creative Journal and Creative Journal for Teens. Jen's site: www.thewritersarbor.com