The Art of Finishing a Poem Workshop
Willamette Writers Conference 2016
Friday, August 12, 2016 // 10:30 to noon Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel Portland, Oregon
One of the trickiest —and most liberating—aspects of poetry is that there is no Gold Standard against which we measure its worth. Without this standard, it can also be difficult to evaluate when a poem is finished. Because each poem is trying to accomplish something different, it is up to the poet to decide when the poem has arrived.
In this workshop, participants will bring three of their poems and will learn how to:
- Separate writing from revising—and know which to do, when.
- Apply 10 powerful revision strategies that address: language, imagery, grammar, sound, point of view, line breaks, titles, and more.
- Identify procrastination and perfectionism when they come up and work with them effectively to relax their grip.
- Distinguish when it’s time to create and when it’s time to incubate.
- Get meaningful feedback (from writing groups, performances, and individual readers), and learn how to translate it effectively to their work.
- Leverage a set of filters to determine for themselves when a poem is finished.
By applying these proven strategies, attitudes and tools, poets can become better acquainted with each poem, push it farther toward its own potential, and cross the finish line with confidence.