Evening Poetry (in-person class)

Instructor: James Cole
$189 Members | $210 Nonmembers
Wednesdays, 4/13/22 – 6/1/22 | 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Before signing up for this in-person class, please read the following statement about requirements to enroll:

All students must be fully vaccinated, provide WriterHouse staff with proof of vaccination, be willing to wear a mask at all times during class, and be prepared to transition to a virtual platform in the event of significant Covid-19 upticks or inclement weather. No refunds will be issued if it is necessary to transition to an online format.

Poetry has long been an art form dedicated to dichotomous modes of communication: literal vs. interpretive, imagistic vs. conceptual, certain vs. uncertain. Regardless of a poem’s placement on these axes, a piece is often most effective when it successfully conveys “the subjective” in interesting, evocative ways. In this course, we will study how poetry can become the perfect medium for experiential writing and how methods both experimental and formalist can help build subjectivity into our own written work. A brief survey of poetic movements and their approaches to illustrating the subjective will provide the basis for ongoing discussions on the relationship between detail and ambiguity, doubt and certainty, and other literary spectrums. Classes will consist of lectures, open forums, and exercises focusing on finding the students’ preferred approaches to subjectivity. Students will be asked to write two poems a week, and supplemental readings will be provided.

Note: This class is not a workshop. While students will be writing and receiving feedback from the instructor and fellow students, classes are primarily devoted to exercises and discussion.

James Cole is an author, poet, scientist, and filmmaker based out of Charlottesville, VA. He is currently working on his Ph.D. in neuroscience at the University of Virginia Medical School, where he studies degenerative retinal diseases. In 2016 he won The Gallery Poetry Prize and in 2017 he was a Semi-Finalist for the VWC Golden Nib Award. He is the founder of the Charlottesville Poetry Critique Circle, a community organizer for the Live Poets Society, and a regular instructor at the VWC Annual Symposium. His first collection, Crow, come home, was released by VerbalEyze Press in November of 2019.

Registration for this class is closed.