Poetry writing: getting to good

"This course is a blast. i just love this and your insightful comments." -Rita Rogers, Sequim, Washington

Read other comments from previous students.

Improve your poetry writing skills as you move step by step from activities that inspire a first draft, on to strategies for revision, then to submitting a polished poem in each of five units, each including a professional critique. Enrollment is limited.

Untangle and then interweave the separate strands of poetry. Instructor Laurel Yourke will guide you through the five units:

Sound: Melody and Music
Tangibility: Image and Emotion
Figures of Speech: Metaphor and Meaning
Language: Compression and Explosion
Theme: Synthesis and Synergy

In each unit, you work through a variety of exercises, readings and challenges which lead you to writing a polished poem with your new skills. Laurel then gives you a written critique of your poem to explain what you've mastered and where you can improve. You will analyze poems, reflect and experiment, practice stretching exercises and learn strategies for revising your poems. The course material also includes writer checklists, illustrative and humorous examples, a glossary of terminology, useful Web links and interactive self-tests.

Writing, reading and falling in love with poetry are all processes. None of these happen using the linear or intuitive side of the brain alone, and none of these happen suddenly rather than gradually. To accommodate this, Getting to Good combines discussion, examples and links to a variety of sites and poets. You will immerse yourself as a poet in varied kinds of experience. The course encourages you with specific tips for reading, writing casually and writing seriously, all the while reflecting, questioning and taking various kinds of writing risks.

You do the lessons at your own pace. You can e-mail questions any time, with or without a lesson.

Who this course is for:

* Poets ready to publish.

* Poets wanting to round out their skills.

* Amateurs seeking more satisfaction.

* Writers prepping for workshops.

Computer requirements:

Review the current technical requirements for students in Learn@UW online courses.

You can start our workshops anytime, and there are no required hours to log on. It's all done with one-on-one correspondence with the instructor using email. Some classes have materials on a web site, but you can access those at your leisure with a password that we will give you. We have writers from around the world participating in our workshops, and we have success stories. A lot of great writing gets accomplished via email. Because of the one-on-one nature of our workshops, you'll find them an excellent "coaching" or mentoring situation that will keep you going. And if you want to just work on your own-hey, that's fine too. Of course you can do the suggested exercises on your own and pass on the feedback if you'd rather do that. We're also here throughout the year if you have questions.

Your instructor:

Laurel Yourke, of the UW-Madison Department of Liberal Studies and the Arts, is the author of "Waiting for Beethoven" (a poetry collection) and "Take Your Characters to Dinner: Creating the Illusion of Reality in Fiction." She has received the UW-Madison Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Council of Wisconsin Writers Award for Encouragement of Wisconsin Writers. An associate director of Writer's Institute, she has taught literature and creative writing in ongoing intermediate and advanced writing workshops, School of the Arts at Rhinelander, Write by the Lake, public school and college classrooms, Distance Education courses, Elderhostel, College Week for Kids, Senior Academy, Arts Week and interactive television. She has published reviews, feature articles and print- and web-based course materials on fiction, poetry, composition, literature, and advanced creative writing. Her poetry has appeared in various university presses and other periodicals including "Wisconsin Academy Review," "The Larcom Review," "The Wisconsin Fellowship Poets Calendar" and twice been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

Costs:

Registration is $155. Enrollment is limited. You will earn 2.0 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) when you complete the course.

Contact:

Your contact for more information about "Poetry writing: Getting to Good" is Laurel Yourke, 608-265-3972, lyourke@dcs.wisc.edu.

Student comments:

"If one is looking for honest feedback, look no further! Laurel began this course by asking what I wanted out of it and she gave me just that. If one doesn’t know where they stand as a poet before they begin this course, rest assured you’ll have a clear idea by its completion. Her patience throughout the course exemplifies a pure love for poetry and an honest desire to see her students succeed. One couldn’t ask for a more personalized way to grow as a poet. Thank you Laurel, I can’t wait to take the class again!" ~Corey Walker - Ruidoso, New Mexico.

"I finish this assignment with a sadness, but also, joy in the accomplishment. I cannot in truth describe my gratitude for your unending patience, understanding, and pure love for the written word. I have been very privileged to have had you as a teacher, but more like a mentor, one who cares about poetry to the extent of giving beyond and going beyond what would be required of a teacher. You are to be praised for your ability, but also, your enthusiasm for the innate love of poetry. I thank you for your patience with me, I have gleaned so much, and I know I have many more roads to travel, but you were the guiding star. I will never cease to write poetry, but I vow I will learn to write better and always thank you for getting me motivated to 'get to the good.' I am enjoying your chapbook and I read it everyday, like my Bible. Thank you for all that you are." ~ Nanci Rubin, Fredericksburgh, VA

"I enjoyed this class very much. To have an online course is a wonderful resource for someone like me: an American living overseas. That the course was given by UW-Madison was also a plus, as I am a UW-Madison graduate, and I recognize the quality of the teachers is very high. I had run across Laurel Yourke's book "Take Your Characters to Dinner" earlier when I was interested in writing short stories, and I was glad to see that she was teaching this poetry course. The responses I received on my poetry were prompt and insightful, and I feel I learned a lot during this course. I think the cost was reasonable.

"I want to thank you for your mentorship, too short as it was, which significantly helped me to get into bed with my poems and wrap myself with their sounds, touch, smell, and taste. Your combination of candor, and an astute eye for the warts and the song of my submissions, in harmony with encouragement, was a delight. I particularly loved the 'reasons' for your comments - the explanation of why something needed help or why something worked. In each case, after reflection, you showed me a better way. I originally took the course to loosen my writing style from years of scientific writing. I knew poetry would help and send me on my way to fiction. In stead, you have helped me see that poetry is more than I thought...and poetry is where I'll remain. I only wish I could learn from you face-to-face" ~ Paul Saluk, Woodstock, Georgia

"I greatly enjoyed and learned from your course, 'Getting to Good.' I liked the way the sections were organized and appreciated the excellent links to poetry resources on the internet. I had no idea there were so many! Many writers hesitate before taking courses that will 'teach us how to write' as if we need to absorb a set of rules before being licensed to practice. Your course is quite different - it liberates imagination and it allows the writer to grow and proceed at the rate that is most convenient to him or her. Your comments on each poem were not only useful in revising my work but also in guiding me in achieving the objective of the course - getting to good (or at least getting better). As a middle-aged writer of prose who is only a beginner poet, you have encouraged me to strive in this field." ~ Ralph Smith, Ottawa, Ontario

"Laurel Yourke is everything you could hope for in a professor and more. She is supportive, encouraging, and highly intelligent. Her course curriculum is brilliant in the manner it analyzes the various components of good poetry. Sound, image, and language are all discussed in clear, concise ways that leave the student with a much firmer grasp of what poetry is. Laurel Yourke's ideas on poetry are always backed with excellent examples and essays from well-known poets. This course is a treasure chest of ideas and information. And Laurel Yourke is the swash buckling sea captain who teaches you everything you ever needed to know about the sea."

"It was so well structured- it really helped me nail down the basics. I've felt that I've had technical limitations as a non-English majoy. I especially appreciate the checklists. The links expanded possibilities of style, were so easy to go to at just the right time and showed me many of the resources available on the internet. And the 'Challenge' was a particularly invigorating way to end a session. I'm certainly more confident as a poet and that's a good thing." ~ Barb Barnard, Madison, Wisconsin

"I have enjoyed corresponding with you in this class. I found that the class was a helpful way to motivate me to write more. Also, having monthly assignments on specific technical skills helped me not only focus but also improve my writing. In addition, I appreciated the speed of your responses and how you gave constructive criticism that was honest but also supportive. Now that I have completed some new works through this class, my goal is to refine some of my poems and send them out for possible publication. Thank you for your advice and guidance throughout this course! ~ Andrea Johannes, Matsudo, Japan

Also of interest:

The same writing staff that bring you these great online classes also provide individualized writing critique services. Learn more by visiting our writing critique services Web page. The Writing News

Receive the Writing News, our free e-mail newsletter. If you subscribe, then 4-5 times a year you will receive from the Department of Liberal Studies and the Arts a detailed e-mail with information about our upcoming writing programs as well as news about student acheivements, new programs, and opportunities for writers. To subscribe send a blank e-mail message to: join-writing-news@lists.wisc.edu.

More distance education: Independent Learning journalism and writing courses are another option for distance education through University of Wisconsin-Extension. Most courses are available for college or high school credit.