CRW 5331 Spring 2019 Belieu

My course is conducted in the traditional workshop format in which students share their work with their peers and professor who will offer possibilities for revision to the student whose work is up for discussion. The final project for workshop consists of each student typing up a 30-page anthology of poems that at present represents their ars poetica, gathering together the poems they believe have most significantly influenced and shaped their work up to the present moment. This anthology will also include a 5-page introduction in which the student will write a short essay regarding their choices for the anthology, and what they have discovered about their poetic belief system based on the project.

A word on workshops generally: it’s my belief that workshops exist to build a mutually trusting climate to deeply explore our poetic art. While I understand the urge to “win” workshop in a given week—a totally understandable human desire—still, I believe having a safe and supportive space that allows you to experiment, to push your work farther, even to fail righteously from time to time, is of absolute importance for emerging artists. It is my hope that my years of experience as an editor, a teacher, and an active practitioner of the art will help you to achieve more than a small, immediate success (though those feel awfully good, too!), helping you to forge for yourself a long, meaningful life in poetry. As the poet Hayden Carruth said to me many years ago, “Poetry is a long distance race.” It’s my goal, practice, and devotion to help you train for the marathon.