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Posts tagged as “workshop”

Getting Unstuck workshop (4 Mondays, online)

Published June 11, 2022 by David Ruekberg
David Ruekberg 0
Getting Unstuck workshop (4 Mondays, online)

Writer’s Block: Is there such a thing? William Stafford’s solution was to ignore "high standards" and  "get into action." Exercising our writing muscles without fear of “doing it wrong” helps prepare us for the moment when the “big poem” wants to be born. In this workshop we’ll play with ways to move through the doldrums and dread, including journaling, experimenting with forms, collaborating, and more.

Although the focus will be on poetry, strategies for "getting unstuck" apply to all manner of writing. 

Meets four Mondays, July 18 through August 8.

Registration deadline: Friday, July 15

Tuition

  • YMCA of CNY member = Free!
  • Syracuse Downtown Writer's Center member  = $60
  • Non-Member = $80
  • Register by phone with a credit card by calling (315) 474-6851 x380.
  • If you must pay by check, please call first to reserve your place, then return your form with check payable to "YMCA" to:
    • The YMCA’s Downtown Writers Center, 340 Montgomery St., Syracuse, NY 13202

 

Catalog

Image & Sentence: Poetry workshop (8 weeks) (online), register by April 20

Published March 11, 2022 by David Ruekberg
David Ruekberg 0
Image & Sentence: Poetry workshop (8 weeks) (online), register by April 20
if the doors of perception were cleansed

Image is often thought of as a picture in the mind, although any sensory experience counts. Ezra Pound defined image as “that which presents an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time.” It’s the flash of epiphany—what makes us go “Ah!”

And yet poems are made of sentences, or parts of sentences--one word after another. In this class we’ll look at the way words, lines, and sentences prepare the way for moments of increased awareness. Through discussion and brief written commentary you will observe how poets as diverse as John Keats, Yehuda Amichai, Brigit Kelly, Reginald Dwayne Betts, and others wrangle with this interplay.

Participants will generate new writing and discuss it in workshop in the same way we discuss published work: noticing how it’s working, rather than “fixing” other people’s poems. First rule of workshop feedback: Respect.

Meets eight Tuesdays, April 26 through Tuesday, June 14

Registration deadline: April 20

Tuition

  • MCA of CNY member = $150
  • Syracuse Downtown Writer's Center member (and members of other YMCAs) = $116
  • Non-Member = $155
  • Click here to view the catalog.
    • Payment directions are on page 4.
    • Registration form is on page 6.
  • Register by phone with a credit card by calling (315) 474-6851 x380.
  • If you must pay by check, please call first to reserve your place, then return your form with check payable to "YMCA" to:
    • The YMCA’s Downtown Writers Center,
    • 340 Montgomery St., Syracuse, NY 13202

Catalog

Poetry: Image and Sentence (workshop)

Published December 13, 2019 by David Ruekberg
David Ruekberg 0
Poetry: Image and Sentence (workshop)
Ezra Pound defined image as “that which presents an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time.” It’s the thing that sparks a moment of epiphany, that makes us go “Ah!” And yet poems are made of sentences, or parts of sentences, one damn word after another. In this class, we’ll look at how words, lines, and sentences prepare the way for moments of increased understanding. Through discussion and brief written commentary, we’ll look at how poets from John Keats to Yehuda Amichai (and beyond) wrangle with this interplay. Participants will generate new writing and discuss it in the same way we discuss published work, noticing what’s there and how it’s working, rather than “fixing” other people’s poems. Six Wednesdays, beginning March 11, 2020, from 6:30 to 9:00 pm. The final class will be a public reading. See Writers & Books link below to register. Deadline to register: March 4. Please contact me if you have questions.

Poetry: Getting Unstuck (workshop)

Published December 13, 2019 by David Ruekberg
David Ruekberg 0
Poetry: Getting Unstuck (workshop)
Writer’s Block: Is there such a thing? William Stafford’s solution was to ignore “high standards” and “get into action.” Expecting every piece of writing to say it all creates pressure. Exercising your writing muscles every day, however, can help prepare you for the moment when the big piece needs to be lifted into life. In this class, we’ll explore ways to keep moving through the doldrums, including journaling, art, music, news, supermarket chatter, or just fooling around. Criticism—especially from the worst critic of all, the self—will be banished in a kind but firm manner. We'll spend a little time trying out some tricks to get unstuck, produce a piece of writing, and go home with strategies for breaking the block. Recommended Bibliography: Stafford, William. A Way of Writing. Writing the Australian Crawl. Poets on Poetry. U Michigan, Ann Arbor. 1998. Also online: Stafford, William. A Way of Writing. Stafford’s “A Way of Writing”, University of Arkansas: Little Rock, https://ualr.edu/rmburns/rb/staffort.html See link to Writers & Books below to register. Please contact me if you have any questions. [contact-form][contact-field label="Name" type="name" required="true" /][contact-field label="Email" type="email" required="true" /][contact-field label="Website" type="url" /][contact-field label="Message" type="textarea" /][/contact-form]