Poets & Patrons hosts workshops,
led by established poets.

SAVE THE DATES:

Sat., 8/7, Zoom Open Mic, details below
Sat., 8/28, Zoom Poetry Workshop

Linda Wallin © 2017

 

June Poetry
Workshop

Interested in expansive poems &
Christine Swanberg?
Writing More Expansive Poems PDF ⟶

CANCELLED – Entry fees will be refunded

Writing More Expansive Poems: Toward Virtuosity

Led by Christine Swanberg
Saturday, June 26, 2021, 1 – 4 pm

What can poems do simultaneously? Think of Amanda Gorman’s Inaugural poem, for example. What if we expand our poems to include subtle social commentary, interesting narrative, maybe a little history, sustaining metaphors, and sparkling language including rhyme, if so inclined? What if we choose a form that makes the poem enticing on the page? Perhaps we would consider couplets, tercets, quatrains, interesting spacing, or even haiku and sonnet sets? Or perhaps an interesting use of space?

What if we pushed the limits of our poetry and see where it might take us?

Optional Workshop Assignment: Select a poem that just isn’t getting where it needs to go. Explore possible ways to get it there. In the workshop Christine will guide us in discussing possible ways of expanding and enriching the submitted poems.

Submitting Poems for the Workshop: If possible, email your submission to wildamorris@ameritech.net with P & P in the subject line. Otherwise, mail your poem to Wilda Morris, 499 Falcon Ridge Way, Bolingbrook IL 60440-2242. Deadline: poems must be received by June 19. A Zoom link will be sent to those who sends a poem or indicate a desire to attend.

Fee: The workshop is free if you do not submit a poem. If you submit a poem for critique, there is a fee of $10 for non-members, $5 for members. If you submit a poem, you must pay the fee even if you do not attend the meeting because the poems are critiqued in advance (leader feedback will be emailed or mailed to you if you are unable to attend the meeting). Pay online using the buttons below, or mail your check made out to Poets & Patrons to Mike Freveletti, 0N333 Cottonwood Drive, Wheaton, IL. 60187. If you do not get a reply to an e-mailed poem, call Wilda at 630/739-2983 to be sure your poem was received.


Past Events

 

April 24, 2021

Creating Cento Poems Zoom Workshop

Led by Patrice Boyer Claeys A cento is a poem constructed from lines written by other poets. In this workshop, in addition to critiquing poems that were submitted, Patrice shared her passion for centos and helped us learn how to successfully create cento poems of our own.

April 11, 2021

Open Mic for National Poetry Month

Hosted by Curt Vevang, current members read their poems at the event.


February 27, 2021

Creating Memoir from Linked Poems

Led by Arlyn Miller


August 29, 2020

Variations on a Theme

Led by Mardelle Fortier

February 22, 2020

Travelogue, a workshop on Travel Poetry

Led by Jennifer Dotson and Maureen Tolman Flannery

August 24, 2019

Chaos In Fourteen Lines:
Writing Sonnets In Your Own Words
In Our Own Times

Led by Debra Bruce

June 22, 2019

A Moment in Time

Led by Donna Pucciani and Pamela Miller

April 27, 2019 

The Name Game

Led by Gail Goepfert and Patrice Boyer Claeys

February 23, 2019 

Noir, Now

Led by Jenene Ravesloot and John O’Connor

August 25, 2018

Time for a Turn

Led by Sandra Marchetti and Krystal Languell Saturday,

June 23, 2018

A Poem in Dialogue with Another Poem

Led by Jan Bottiglieri and Tony Trigilio

April 28, 2018

Verbalize It: How the Best Action Word Can Enliven Your Poem

Led by Poets & Patrons workshop chair Wilda Morris, author of Szechwan Shrimp and Fortune Cookies: Poems from a Chinese Restaurant.

February 24, 2018

Weaving Magic into Poetry

Led by Rockford poet Christine Swanberg, author of The Red Lacquer Room, Who Walks Among the Trees with Charity, The Alleluia Tree, and most recently Wild Fruition: Sonnets, Spells, and Other Incantations. 

October 14, 2017

Golden Shovel Workshop

Led by Linda Wallin, president of Poets & Patrons and retired Special Education teacher.

August 26, 2017

Sonnets Are Fun!

Led by Mary Hanford, retired English professor and author of Holding to the Light (poetry), Dr. Sally’s Voodoo Man (novel), and Swimming at Villa Hugel (memoir).

June 18, 2017

Let Art Inspire Your Poetry: How to Be Ekphrastic

Led by Beth McDermott, Assistant Professor of English, St. Francis University, Joliet, and Associate Editor of RHINO


April 29, 2017

Speculative Poetry

Led by Caroline Johnson, Vice President and former President, Poets & Patrons of Chicago, and author of two chapbooks

February 25, 2017

What the Heck is a Prose Poem?

Led by Kathleen Rooney, Co-founder of Rose Metal Press and Senior Professional Lecturer, DePaul University
 

October 29, 2016

Music as Muse

Led by Wilda Morris, Former President, Illinois State Poetry Society, and Workshop Chair, Poets & Patrons of Chicago

August 27, 2016

Using Fairy Tale, Myth and Legend in Your Poetry

Led by Jennifer Dotson, Program Coordinator, Highland Park Poetry, and winner of Journal of Modern Poetry
Book Award

June 25, 2016

The Shape a Poem Makes

Led by Christine Swanberg, author of three books of poetry, workshop leader at The Clearing, Door County, WI

April 23, 2016

What We Can Learn About Writing Poetry from Shakespeare

Led by William Yarrow, Professor of English,
Joliet Junior College
 

February 27, 2016

In Praise of Praise Poems

Led by Tom Roby IV, President, Poets Club of Chicago
and creator of The Poetry Wheel, and Jenene Ravesloot, author of three books of poetry
 

October 17, 2015

Surrealist Game Poetry

Led by Pamela Larson, poet, artist and photographer


August 22, 2015

Musical Matters

Led by Debra Bruce, Professor Emeritus, Northeastern Illinois University, and Andrea Witzke Slot, prize-winning novelist, poet and essayist


June 27, 2015

Writing the Spiritual Poem

Led by Judith Valente, winner of the Aldrich Poetry Prize and a Catholic Book Award, and correspondent for PBS


April 25, 2015

Love Poetry with an Attitude

Led by Marilyn Taylor, former Poet Laureate of Wisconsin


February 28, 2015

Confessional Poetry

Led by Albert DeGenova, publisher and editor of
After Hours
 

October 25, 2014

The Fun Art of Haiku & Senryu

Led by Charlotte Digregorio, Midwest Coordinator,
Haiku Society of America and author of Haiku and
Senryu: a Simple Guide for All

 

August 23, 2014

Ekphrastic Poetry: Writing Poetry about Other Forms of Art

Led by Donna Vorreyer, author of 5 chapbooks and two full-length manuscripts, and Cynthia Gallaher, designated by Chicago Public Library as among its “Ten Top Requested Chicago Poets”


June 28, 2014

The Short Poem

Led by William Marr, author of more than 20 books of poetry and former President, Illinois State Poetry Society, and Patrick Dunn, Associate Professor of English,
Aurora University
 

April 26, 2017

Writing Chicago

Led by Caroline Johnson, author of two chapbooks, and Wilda Morris, author of Szechwan Shrimp and Fortune Cookies: Poems from a Chinese Restaurant
 

February 22, 2014

Persona Poems

Led by Martha Modena Vertreace-Doody, Distinguished Professor of English and Poet-in-Residence at Kennedy-King College, and Donna Pucciani, widely published, award-winning poet