Online Poetry Workshops

Testimony

“Stacey's workshop on long poems and sequences was ambitious while still being approachable, so I learned much more and wrote more poems than I had anticipated, before the workshop began. Stacey was both flexible and accessible with regard to assignments and due dates, and gave helpful and supportive feedback while cultivating an atmosphere that brought out the best in peer critiques, too. I highly recommend her workshop.”

“The lessons were rich with excellent examples of poetic sequences and a wealth of links and videos. The course felt well-crafted and had a wonderful progression from lesson to lesson. The prompts complimented the lessons and were engaging and challenging in all the best ways. Stacey's feedback is very helpful and thorough. She's a smart, insightful, and supportive teacher.”

“Stacey's workshop was the best I have ever taken. She has deep knowledge of the craft of poetry and draws widely from contemporary writers in our examples and resources. Her feedback on student work was excellent: she is a penetrating, whip-smart, and generous reader whose critiques excelled at seeing my poems for what they were trying to do, and giving specific and general feedback that helped them become stronger versions of themselves. I would absolutely take another workshop with her.”

Upcoming Workshops

Our House in Verse: Ecopoetic Forms (4 weeks)

June 5 - July 3, 2023
Duration: 4 Weeks (plus 2-week archive)
Format: Online Workshop (asynchronous)
The Poetry Barn

The root word of “eco” is oikos, which translates to “home place.” Ecopoetry rethinks the connection between the human and the more-than-human world. In this generative workshop, we will explore the tools and methods contemporary poets have used to render the oikos onto the page. Turning to poets like Camille Dungy, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Layli Longsoldier, and Lee Ann Roripaugh, all celebrated ecopoets, we will wander through the more-than-human world, recognizing all of the interconnectivities between what is often considered “human,” what’s “not.” How do the two worlds overlap (and are they even distinct from one another)? How do our experiences of identity and place inform each other? What responsibilities do we have as stewards of our environments, and our selves? Each week, we will explore how contemporary poets have reckoned with these questions on the page, and we will write poems of our environment, using the term loosely, and explore forms of translating our “home place” into verse.

Enroll at the early-bird price ($295) through May 15 or the regular price ($315) through June 5.

Once Upon Another Time: Retelling Fairy tales in Verse

October 2 -30, 2023
Duration: 4 Weeks (plus 2-week archive)
Format: Asynchronous Workshop
The Poetry Barn

Past Workshops

Writing the Unsaid: A Generative Workshop, The Loft, Spring 2023
Absence as Form, The Poetry Barn, January 2023
Threads and Needles: The Poetic Sequence, Poetry Barn, December 2022
Distilling Wonder: The Poetry Chapbook, Poetry Barn, Summer 2022
Here is Where We Are: Poetry of Place, The Loft, February 2021
Absence as Form, The Poetry Barn, January 2021
Absence as Form, The Poetry Barn, September 2020
A Celebration of Mary Oliver’s A Poetry Handbook, The Loft, July 2020
Distilling Wonder: The Poetry Chapbook, Poetry Barn, Summer 2020
The Contemporary Ode, Poetry Bam, November 2019
Inviting the Muse: Poetry 101, The Loft, Fall 2019
The Unsaid: Absence as Form, Poetry Barn, August 2019
A Celebration of A Poetry Handbook, The Loft, July 2019
Writing Poetry in the Age of Anxiety, The Loft, April 2019
Distilling Wonder: The Poetry Chapbook, The Poetry Barn, March 2019
New Poems from Good Bones: Radical Revision Techniques, the Poetry Barn, January 2019
Speculative Poetry: Writing Past the Apocalypse, The Poetry Barn, November 2018
Everyday Magic: Domestic Fabulism in Verse, The Poetry Barn, September 2018
The Contemporary Ode, The Poetry Barn, July 2018
Transformation Through Revision, The Loft, Fall 2017
Everyday Magic: Domestic Fabulism in Verse, The Poetry Barn, August 2017
Ekphrastic Poetry, The Poetry Barn, 2017

Self-Guided Workshops

The Contemporary Ode
Named Best Budget Workshop by The Balance (2020, 2021)
Dates: Any
Format: Independent Study (more info)

Perhaps contemporary poets owe it to Pablo Neruda’s “Ode to an Onion” for giving them license to explore anything (and everything) around them. In this four-module self-paced workshop, you will examine the expectations set by titling a poem “Ode” and investigate a diverse selection of contemporary odes (such as those by Angel Nafis, Clint Smith, Kiki Petrosino, Martha Silano, Marcus Wicker, Sharon Olds, Lucille Clifton, Lauren K. Alleyne, Kevin Young), exploring the craft elements that make a contemporary ode—especially those on unexpected or mundane subjects—successful before setting off to write your own.

Each lesson focuses on a new technique and reason for adopting this form. The writing assignments include celebrating objects, creating narratives, reclaiming history, and finding bold new ways to write about the self and body.

Shortly after you register, you will receive an email containing an invitation to create an account and begin learning. Note: This class does not include feedback or interaction with the instructor or other learners.