Take Two: When Your Poem Could Use a Fresh Look with Nathan McClain (via Zoom)

When I was young, one had to travel to and stand in line at the movie theatre to secure a ticket and seat. Occasionally, this meant discovering the film you’d waited in line for, that you intended to see, had already sold out. Sometimes, it meant you chose to see another film instead. And sometimes that alternative proved surprisingly enjoyable and satisfying, despite your original plan. Similarly, This workshop will focus on revision strategies and craft techniques of poems participants have already drafted and look to refine. One of our primary goals will be to both offer and receive feedback. However, participants will also be encouraged to explore additional ideas or alternate opportunities their poems may offer which may not have been the poet’s original intention. In short, we will interrogate intent as well as surprise and discovery that may be re-invigorating or re-energizing for the poet. What else is playing?  What more might the poem have to offer? It will be important that participants come to the workshop with an open mind and a willingness to be surprised and to surprise themselves. 

This is a 6-week workshop starting on April 2 from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm via Zoom for six consecutive Wednesdays.

Nathan McClain (he/him) is the author of two collections of poetry: Previously Owned (Four Way Books, 2022), longlisted for the Massachusetts Book Award, and Scale (Four Way Books, 2017). He is a recipient of fellowships from The Frost Place, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and is a Cave Canem fellow. He earned an MFA from the M.F.A. Program for Writers at Warren Wilson. His poems and prose have appeared in Plume Poetry 10, The Common, Guesthouse, Poetry Northwest, and Zócalo Public Square, among others. He teaches at Hampshire College and serves as poetry editor of the Massachusetts Review.