Breaking the Line, Breaking the Law: A Poetic Technique Class with Dominika Wrozynski (Zoom)

Line breaks are, arguably, one of the most distinctive divisions between poetry and prose. Formal poetry often comes with “built-in” line breaks established by rhyme, number of lines, or syllabics. But what about free verse? Or prose poetry? How do line breaks affect our poems? How does a line’s sonic, aesthetic, or interpretive quality change when it is broken in multiple ways? This two-hour craft and technique course will interrogate line breaks with a variety of poem examples and discussion, as well as with a line-breaking exercise that challenges the assumptions we may already have about line breaks in our own poems. Participants are encouraged (but not required) to read an excerpt of Denise Levertov’s “On the Function of the Line,” and this text will be sent out before the start of class. If time permits, participants are welcome to ask specific questions about line breaks within their own poems.

Dominika Wrozynski is the Program Director of the Hudson Valley Writers Center and author of American Accent, winner of the Sinclair Poetry Prize from Evening Street Press. She holds a PhD in Creative Writing/Poetry from Florida State University. For 22 years, she has taught creative writing and literature. Her poems have appeared in journals such as Crab Orchard Review, The Spoon River Poetry Review, Rattle, Five Points, Nimrod, Birmingham Poetry Review, New Madrid, and many others. She lives in Patterson, New York.