Workshop

For many of you, this may be your first workshopping experience. It is natural to be a bit shy and scared at first, but I hope you will all warm up to the process. I will talk to you more about what workshopping is, why we do it, and how we can do it better in class. But for now, here is a breif written guide to workshopping that you may return to again and again throughout the semester.

Procedure & Etiquette

Read AND comment on all the poems in the worksheet BEFORE you get to class. By reading, I don’t mean just reading over the poem once. I want you to read each poem at least twice OUT LOUD. I cannot stress enough the importance of reading poems out loud. Poetry is an oral art, and the sound of a poem is a huge consideration.

In class, we will go around and cover everybody’s poem in the order of my choosing. The poet will read his/her poem out loud to the class. Listen to how the poet reads the poem. This is very important. How did the poet’s reading of the poem (tone of voice, speed, pauses) differ from your own reading of the poem when you read it at home?

After the poet reads, the discussion is open. You will be expected to lead the discussion on the poem. Think of me as a facilitator. I will ask questions and generally lead the discussions into areas which I think are important, but ultimately, I want you to do all the critical work. Come prepared to think and talk!

If the poem being workshopped is yours, listen to what the class has to say without interrupting the discussion. At the end, you will have a minute or two to clarify your original intention and ask questions, if any.

You should feel comfortable offering carefully considered & honest feedback. In turn, you should feel comfortable recieving it. If you do not take criticism well think about growing a thicker skin, fast. Think: “It is the poem they are talking about, not me.” An unsuccessful poem does NOT equal an unsuccessful poet (or person). Every poet makes mistakes – when you do, apply what you can learn to the next poem (or your revision).

When critiquing, never say “This is good/bad” without following up with a reason. If you do not have a reason for saying why it’s good, then your job is to find out that reason! Why do you like this line? How does it work for or against the poem? Without the reason, the comment has no value in a workshop. With a reason, the feedback becomes constructive. We begin to understand what makes something work or not work.

I hope this goes without saying, but NEVER attack the poet. You can be honest in your criticism without being aggressive. I want this to be a comfortable non-threatening workshopping environment.

Also, never assume that the speaker of the poem IS the poet. Keep the poem separate from the poet. Many times the poet can speak from the voice of someone else. In fact, this is an oft employed strategy and one we will explore more this semester..

What To Say?

Well now that you’ve read the poem out loud twice and thought about it intensely, what is there to say about it? Well, the possibilities are endless, and I will definately talk more about the things you should pay attention to in class. There are no strict rules or formulas for effective workshopping. But for starters, think about these things:

• First of all, talk about general observations. What do you notice? Even really obvious things can be useful (very short lines... lots of adjectives, etc.) Just because it is an obvious fact doesn’t mean you shouldn’t voice it. These simple observations may lead to deeper observations later on.
  
• Consider the intent of the poet. For example, what is the reason for the short lines? Do they work?
  
• Meaning: What is the poet saying? Is it narrative? Lyric? How is the meaning served or not served by the form / sounds?
  
• Now is the time to put on different lenses. You will be learning many concepts in this class. For each poem, look at it through the lens of one of these concepts. For example... if you look only at the linebreaks in a poem, you may notice things that either work or don’t work based on this one simple concept.
  
• Lastly, any general thoughts/feelings/associations that the poem brings up is fair game. Tell us how it affects you personally.

I’m sure I’ve left many things out, but I will continue to guide and help you during workshop so that this class will become a comfortable place to constructively discuss poems.