Erasure Poetry [Writing Course]

Erasure Poetry - perfect the craft of using revision in your poetry 

Surprise—a feeling of simultaneous discovery and recognition, is the most important and most mysterious quality of good writing. The poet Robert Frost famously said, “No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader.” So how do we accomplish that? Of course, there are endless prompts and exercises out there for generating new drafts of raw material, but what about when it comes to revision? How do we encounter and sustain a feeling of surprise through the revision process as we re-work and reimagine our work?  

Who: Led by poet Graham Barnhart, US Army veteran and author of The War Makes Everyone Lonely, this workshop will approach revision as a radical process of exploration and area reconnaissance rather than a linear, editing-based process. Participants are encouraged to bring works in progress, but we will also generate new material and experiment with techniques like poetic erasure to develop, multiply, and recombine that material into a multi-verse of new drafts. While the workshop will focus on poetry, participants will leave with new tools and strategies to develop their own revision process across any writing genre.

When: Sunday, June 4, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm (PST)

Where: Zoom

Cost: $70 course only | $150 course and private consultation