Unity in Poetry
The aim of this course is to improve the quality of your poetic writing by the establishment and maintenance of different types of unity. The course will run from Friday 4th August through Friday 1st September with class sessions on Tuesdays and Fridays. We shall see how different poets have achieved this in various verse styles, and undertake written exercises concentrating on unity.
Class Begins: August 4th
Advanced Short Stories
In this class, students are invited to go beyond the basic elements of fiction writing to explore issues of voice, nontraditional plot structure, and unconventional points of view through reading exemplary stories and responding in their own writing. Each week there will be reading and writing assignments that will assist students toward completing at least one story draft by course end. In addition, the opportunity will be provided for students to read and respond to each other's work.
It will be helpful if students enter class with at least an idea for a story, but it's not necessary. We will review the basics of short story writing the first week, but students should be familiar from past class(es) with the basics of character, point of view (POV), plot elements, setting, and theme.
Class Begins: August 7th
HAIKU 101 - August
Haiku is a very short form of Japanese poetry. It is typically characterized by three qualities:
The essence of haiku is "cutting". This is often represented by the juxtaposition of two images or ideas and a kireji ("cutting word") between them, a kind of verbal punctuation mark which signals the moment of separation and colors the manner in which the juxtaposed elements are related.
Traditional haiku consist of 17 on (also known as morae though often loosely translated as "syllables"), in three phrases of 5, 7, and 5 on, respectively. In English, the syllable count varies because Japanese and English syllables are different. The rule is 17 syllables or less.
A kigo (seasonal reference), usually drawn from a saijiki, an extensive but defined list of such terms.
Modern Japanese haiku are increasingly unlikely to follow the tradition of 17 on or to take nature as their subject but the use of juxtaposition continues to be honored in both traditional and modern haiku. There is a common, although relatively recent, a perception that the images juxtaposed must be directly observed everyday objects or occurrences.
In Japanese, haiku are traditionally printed in a single vertical line while haiku in English often appear in three lines to parallel the three phrases of Japanese haiku.
Previously called hokku, haiku was given its current name by the Japanese writer Masaoka Shiki at the end of the 19th century.
Class Begins: August 7th
Setting the Scene
Why should writers care about setting and where a story takes place? Why not just tell the story? One difference between a novice and more experienced storyteller is in the use of setting: experienced writers are meticulously detailed about setting. Look at almost any story from a major publication such as "The New Yorker" and see that the story cannot be separated from its time and place. In this class learn to fully ground your story in its time and place, its setting.
Class Begins: August 14th
Learn with the guidance of an instructor.
Four week classes are only $99.00
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