Have you always wanted to write poetry, but don’t know how to start? Maybe you already write poems and are looking for a good excuse to spend a weekend delving deeper? Maybe your writing feels  a little bland and you want to explore other forms that could help you break out of old patterns.

In this single-day poetry workshop, renowned poet, editor and performer Sara Larsen will guide you through a series of exercises and discussions to help you unearth your unique poetic voice.

You will immerse yourself in a variety of poetic forms from across the globe – the sonnet, ballad, ghazal, pantoum, ode, tanka and more (!) —and practice composing your own poems. You will study each form in-depth, while also engaging with avant-garde approaches that break, subvert, and reinvent the forms. You’ll both learn the rules AND learn how to break them, so you can explore possibilities outside your pre-established writing boundaries. This class will be engaging, experimental, playful and generative. You will walk away with a clutch of new poems and a multitude of ideas for your future work, whatever genre or form it may be.

This workshop is open to complete beginners and experienced writers alike. It is encouraged for poets and writers of all genres (be that fiction or nonfiction) with an interest in exploring different forms to enrich and expand their writing practice.