a poetry immersion
to initiate new writing
Something Soulful, Supportive, & Pleasureful
September 28-October 26, 2022
Read poems. Write poems. Transform your practice into something soulful, supportive, & pleasureful.
Fall is a natural time to return to one’s desk & settle into a rhythm of reading & writing. This month-long generative experience offers instruction & inspiration for poets & secret poets seeking support in their creative process.
Write & Feel Better
Our purpose is twofold: we want to write more poems, & we always feel better when we step away from the fray, even briefly, as a way of integrating how we feel, what has happened, & what it all means. To this end, we will devote ourselves to reading a thoughtful selection of contemporary poems, using a notebooking process to generate new drafts, & cultivating the habits of curiosity, joy, and creative inquiry.
By the end of September we will have written many new poems, passages, & fragments that we can continue to develop throughout the season & beyond.
Learn From the Very Best
We will have read and learned from poems by Bill Knott, Chase Twichell, Göran Sonnevi, Ruth Stone, Jim Harrison, Jason Shinder, Jen Hofer, June Jordan, Joy Harjo, January O’Neill, Paisley Rekdal, Adam Zagajewski, Rumi, James Wright, Mark Strand, Ana Božičević, Jean Valentine, Lars Gustafsson, Anna Swir & others.
For a Poetic Fall
Each week’s packet includes writing prompts, craft tips, “next steps” for your work in progress, and on the weekend: activities to encourage you to be a “Poet in the World,” often in enjoyable and simple ways (such as having a poetry picnic). The course is hosted in Padlet, an easy to use online portal. You will have access to all of the content for a year; download anything you want to keep forever.
“I am grateful to you for the way you make this work accessible and joyous.”
Steadying, Enriching, & Joyful
Taught by author and award winning teacher, Holly Wren Spaulding, this course will help you begin (or maintain) a meaningful writing practice that can serve as an anchor, even as the world convulses. Feel discouraged or beset with doubt? Holly brings brings a natural enthusiasm and palpable joy to this task, and she has plenty to share around. You might be surprised at how different it feels to learn and write among people who are having a good time in the process.
Coursework will help you generate drafts throughout the week, while weekends are for integration and activities away from your desk (instructions provided). You might expect to spend 3-5 hours per week, engaging in the course material. You can also set your own pace if you want to slow it down but it’s recommended that you attend the live workshops if at all possible.
Live Gatherings On Zoom
Live writing workshops happen on Wednesdays at Noon EST. These will be recorded for your convenience and posted to an easy-to-use portal, along with all course content (PDFs, Videos, Audio).
Study Hall will be offered on Fridays at 10 am EST on Zoom. Bring questions or work quietly, in community.
Intimacy With Self, Page, & the World
At the heart of this creative writing experience is a commitment to the fundamental value & pleasure of giving time, space, & attention to a practice, regardless of future publication or public acknowledgement, although many Poetry Forge students are also placing their work with journals & presses.
Other Doors was designed to increase your intimacy with the page while keeping your screen-time to a minimum. Each week’s video or live lecture, as the case may be, is 30-60 minutes long. If you stay on track, you can expect to spend 3-6 hours each week on the activities. More if you get inspired!
Doors will open.
We will walk through.
“It’s like alchemy. My morning writing time is often muddled and short, but in the end I’m surprised by the results of simply committing to it each day. Holly has helped me to believe that I can be a writer while wearing many other hats.”
Who
All Levels
If you struggle to maintain a practice on your own, benefit from assignments, & enjoy the energy of collective engagement, this course is for you. If you do well with a facilitated process & have enjoyed my reading recommendations on Instagram or my via newsletter, this is for you. If you are a secret poet, yearning for more structure around what you generally do alone, join us! Other Doors provides possibilities for experienced writers as well those who are newer to writing poetry. Have questions? Get in touch.
When
Other Doors takes place during the first weeks of Autumn. A time to find comfort and stability in simple rituals, such as making tea and tucking into a chair with well chosen poems and your notebook. If you complete the course, you can expect to go into the next season, and beyond, with drafts of worthy poems to develop for publication—if you wish. Or treat Other Doors as a personal practice, free of ambition or attachment to outcomes. You get to choose.
Everything is a Door
You Will Receive
Three Live writing workshops on Zoom. Replays provided.
Weekly craft talks, via asynchronous video
Weekly packets containing readings and original writing provocations.
Open Office Hours and Study Halls on alternating Fridays; bring your questions and/or simply work in the company of others.
Access to all course materials through the end of 2022.