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Private Instruction in Writing Poetry

From meticulously structured poetic forms to the open frontiers of free verse, students can explore the vast range of expression that poetry makes possible. With the guidance of his or her tutor, the student will practice fundamental technical devices, including voice, tone, image, metaphor, and line break. The tutor will suggest classic and contemporary texts that may inspire the student’s own creations and will offer encouragement and feedback on work in progress.

The goals of our poetry courses are threefold:

  1. Build the student’s core writing skills.
  2. Acquaint the student with a variety of poetic styles, forms, and techniques.
  3. Draft and revise poems that can be submitted for publication or as part of an admissions portfolio.

If advanced students are interested in publishing their poetry, our tutors can guide them to appropriate venues (print and online journals, school magazines, local newspapers) and help them compose submission cover letters.

A typical summer poetry program involves one 60-90 minute session per week, with writing and reading assignments for the student to complete independently and discuss at the following session. In addition to short exercises on form and style, the student generates drafts of several new poems, and every poem undergoes rigorous revision.

Our Poetry Instructors:
Our team of poetry instructors includes the tutors below. Click on the instructor’s short profile to access his or her full profile:

Anne S., M.F.A.
Anne S., M.F.A.
Education

George Mason University, MFA in Poetry
Yale University, BA in English and Psychology, summa cum laude


Summary of Experience

An Assistant Professor of English and Director of the Writing Center at Franklin Pierce University, Anne teaches courses in creative writing, composition, and literature. Her poetry collection, Undertow, won the 2007 Lexi Rudinitzky Poetry Prize, and her poems have been widely anthologized and published in literary journals.
Hannah G., M.F.A.
Hannah G., M.F.A.
Education

University of Houston, M.F.A in Creative Writing/Poetry
University of Aix-Marseilles III
University of Tennessee, B.A in French and Humanities (International Studies)


Summary of Experience

Hannah currently teaches English at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside to traditional and non-traditional students. Her courses comprise literature, composition, and creative writing. Hannah is the poetry editor for CATCH UP, a nationally distributed journal of literature and graphic art. Her first collection of poetry, Your Invitation to a Modest Breakfast, will be published this fall.
Marisa H., M.F.A.
Marisa H., M.F.A.
Education

University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, MFA in Fiction Writing
Fulbright Fellow in Creative Writing to India
University of California, Berkeley, BA in English and Interdisciplinary Studies Field, Phi Beta Kappa


Summary of Experience

As a teacher, tutor, and workshop leader, Marisa's students have ranged from struggling writers to M.F.A. candidates. She has taught at universities including Stanford and U.C. Berkeley in composition, nonfiction, poetry, and fiction. Her memoir Loyal to the Sky (2007) won the Nautilus Gold Award for World-Changing Books. In 2010, she received a Fulbright fellowship in Creative Writing.

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