Nuts and Bolts: A Poetry Workshop with Bill Zavatsky

Not a class in mechanics, but a solid review (and more) of what makes poetry tick—from the technique to the heartbeat. Participants will look at meter, rhyme and sonic devices, examine some stanza forms (the sonnet, the villanelle, the pantoum), and discuss Carl Jung’s four functions, all the while learning how these disciplines can inform the use of free verse, the medium employed by most contemporary poets. Students will write both in and out of class, exploring neighborhood settings to strengthen their powers of observation. The object of the workshop is to develop the tools with which participants can most effectively write about their own experience. Workshop members should be prepared to write during every session and to share their poems.

Bill Zavatsky has published two books of poems, Where X Marks the Spot and Theories of Rain and Other Poems. His co-translation (with Zack Rogow) of Earthlight: Poems by André Breton, won the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize. His revised co-translation of The Poems of A.O. Barnabooth by Valery Larbaud (with Ron Padgett) was republished in 2008. In 2008 he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in poetry. He has taught in many venues, from elementary school to high school to college.

Class Registration Guidelines
Open to all; no applications needed but registration is required; call (212) 431-7920 x2832 or email classes@poetshouse.org