About workshops

Workshops on Neopoet are groups that meet for a certain period of time to focus on a certain aspect of poetry. Each workshop participant is asked to critique all the other poems submitted into a workshop. A workshop leader helps coordinate -- they set the agenda, give participants feedback on whether their submissions and critique are at they level expected of them, and after the workshop is over, give feedback to participants. 

To join a workshop, first find one that is of interest to you. Once you have found the right workshop (and verified that it is open -- you can find this out in the description below), you can apply to join the workshop.


Join the Neopoet online poetry workshop and community to improve as a writer, meet fellow poets, and showcase your work. Sign up, submit your poetry, and get started.

An Exploration of Style, Subject, and Critique

Status: 
Program description/goal: 

Description:
26 days, one subject, three styles of poetry, biting critique, 10 slots . . . Are you willing to give it a try

How are you feeling?

Up to a challenge?

Want to test your ability to write way out of your comfort zone?

Good.

Then join my workshop. It starts May 8th and runs for 26 days.

In that time, 10 lucky people will be assigned a subject and will produce three (3) separate poems and critique 27. You do not get to choose the subject, the styles, or the time.

What could possibly go wrong?

Details are below. This is a 1st come, 1st joined.

Leader: Pugilist
Moderator(s): Rula

Objectives:
Write outside your comfort zone, and quickly

Level of expertise: Shark

Subject matter:
Each participant will be given a subject and will construct three (3) poems on that subject for critique. The poem styles will be, in order, Free Verse, Shakespearean Sonnet, Haiku

Schedule:
May 8 - May 9: Introduction, Q&A, and subject assignment
May 10 - May 14: Free Verse Creation
May 15- May 16: Free Verse Critique
May 17 - May 21: Shakespearean Sonnet Creation
May 22 - May 23: Shakespearean Sonnet Critique
May 24 - May 28: Haiku Creation
May 29 - May 30: Haiku Critique
May 31 - June 2: Workshop Assessment, Lessons Learned, Q & A, and Closeout

Workshop closed early - goals met 5 days sooner than anticipated.

Length: 
23 days
Number of participants (limit): 
10 people
Skill level: 
Date: 
Friday, May 8, 2015 to Friday, May 29, 2015
Short description: 
26 days, one subject, three styles of poetry, biting critique, 10 slots . . . Are you willing to give it a try

Comments

Please add me to the lists post haste.

W. H. Snow

A poet is a nightingale, who sits in darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds. Percy Bysshe Shelley

Learn how, teach others.
The NeoPoet Mentor Program
http://www.neopoet.com/mentor/about

Added.

---------------------------------------------------------

Jonathan Moore

author comment

But my computer is playing up at the moment - I have only my tablet, and crippled a little related to not having access to many short-cuts (eg: cut and paste etc) so I hope I will be able to keep up

Can I just say here, Jonathon, to both yourself and Wesley, that I appreciate the critiques on my recent works, but have not had the time (as well as computer help) to reply or to work on the poems.... I hope to get to them next week - just wanted to let you know
xxx

'Each for the joy of the working, and each, in his separate star,
shall draw the Thing as he sees It, for the God of Things as They are.'
(Rudyard Kipling)

I'll give it a shot. I'm not much at any of the above forms and plain out stink at sonnets so at the least I'll supply plenty of chum for the sharks............stan

I want in!

Alid

I'd like to give it a shot.

Blue Demon77

"What I want is to be what I was before the knife,
before the brooch pin, before the salve, fixed me in this parenthesis:
Horses fluent in the wind. A place, a time gone out of mind."

The Eye Mote-Sylvia Plath

in Ron

❤❤❤❤❤❤

Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words
........Robert Frost☺

Please follow me on Instagram
https://instagram.com/poetry.jo?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

miss me?
xxx

'Each for the joy of the working, and each, in his separate star,
shall draw the Thing as he sees It, for the God of Things as They are.'
(Rudyard Kipling)

I misunderstood your original message. You have been added.

---------------------------------------------------------

Jonathan Moore

author comment

shot at you thus you weren't missed lol

I can not join because I can not commit with my illness. However i will follow when I can.
This is an excellent concept.

cheers,
Jess
A new workshop on the most important element of poetry-
'Rhythm and Meter in Poetry'
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/rhythm-and-meter-poetry

Nor have ever been.
Does that mean it prohibits rhyme and meter or only that they be used in an unstructured manner?

cheers,
Jess
A new workshop on the most important element of poetry-
'Rhythm and Meter in Poetry'
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/rhythm-and-meter-poetry

Free verse is, by definition, without structure.

Incidental rhymes are one thing, a pattern of rhyming is not free verse.

---------------------------------------------------------

Jonathan Moore

author comment

I want in! Please :)

No verse is free for the man who wants to do a good job. - TS Eliot

http://www.wsgeorge.com/

Nice to see you involved with Neo's activities again.
I've just added you.

❤❤❤❤❤❤

Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words
........Robert Frost☺

Please follow me on Instagram
https://instagram.com/poetry.jo?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Let's get something established right off the bat. This workshop is not about writing great poetry. This workshop is about being able to write competent poetry on demand about anything.

Why?

Because subjects are the soul of a poem and, left to our own devices, we get comfortable in our process and with our subjects and tend to write the same poem with different words all the damn time.

A writing exercise is important for many reasons but, for this workshop, we're going to concentrate on three:

1) You should be able to write about anything
2) You should be able to write in any style, competently
3) Writer's block may stop an idea, but it does not stop all of them

So, we've got a compressed schedule and you do not get to pick the subjects about which you will write. Because, as poets, we're supposed to be able to step up and do the job, just as you would be expected to step up and do the job in any other other profession.

That's right, profession. If you are a poet, be a poet. This is not a hobby, this is not a lark, this is not something yuo do in your free time to make the world pretty. If you want to be taken seriously, take your work seriously.

Challenge yourself, grow, be willing to screw up, and learn from it.

Because the world has more than enough people saying, "I write poetry from the heart! You can't really criticize that!"

Bullshit.

Now, let's get to work:

Your assignments are below. Yes the subjects were chosen to be as banal as possible. Both the names and the subjects were listed separately in Random.org and then matched by number.

Participant ___________ Subject
scribbler _____________ kettle
BlueDemon77 ________ porch
Rula ________________ dish
William Saint George ___ chair
Pugilist ______________ bowl
alidzain ______________ table
wesley snow __________ cup
judyanne _____________ couch
weirdelf ______________ lamp

This will be a tough schedule. Perfection is for hobbyists. You are a professional, act like it. Use your time to plan out your writing. Don't be afraid to fail. Don't be afraid to change your approach.

Don't be afraid to admit you need help and ASK for it.

We have two days to ask questions and whine and complain, after that, we'll get the job done and whine and complain AFTER it is complete.

Because we're professionals.

---------------------------------------------------------

Jonathan Moore

author comment

Is this subject for the free verse only, or are all of our poems to be on the same?
xxx

'Each for the joy of the working, and each, in his separate star,
shall draw the Thing as he sees It, for the God of Things as They are.'
(Rudyard Kipling)

I understand that these are prompt words, so are they to be mentioned in the body of the poem or just talk about them?

❤❤❤❤❤❤

Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words
........Robert Frost☺

Please follow me on Instagram
https://instagram.com/poetry.jo?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

by arguing the perfection is much more the realm of professionals than hobbyists. think not? Try submitting something to an editor which is full of imperfections......you'll likely not even be given the curtesy of a rejection letter.

Next, what are you seeking from participants Right Now? Discussion or a poem? And is each participant supposed to write all three types poem on the single subject?

Now on to agreement lol. I agree that a poet who writes in Only one form is missing out on stretching his/her horizons. Each form one attempts is likely to make a poet better at their preferred form of poetry........stan

good or bad, so this will be work.

An artist must produce or they are no artist. If you would write poetry it should, as Faulkner said, "consume your life".
Otherwise, why bother?
I'm up for a cuppa.

W. H. Snow

A poet is a nightingale, who sits in darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds. Percy Bysshe Shelley

Learn how, teach others.
The NeoPoet Mentor Program
http://www.neopoet.com/mentor/about

A poet, like a journalist, should be able to write about anything quickly.
I am writing epopee. The thing is 24,000 lines and needs four times that to finish. If I don't kick it in the ass I'll die first.

Perfection comes later in revision.
Constant revision.

W. H. Snow

A poet is a nightingale, who sits in darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds. Percy Bysshe Shelley

Learn how, teach others.
The NeoPoet Mentor Program
http://www.neopoet.com/mentor/about

1) You subject is just that, a subject. You never need mention the word, but your poetry in this workshop must be about the subject

2) Poems. ll poems must be about the same subject. Our goal is to see how well we can extend our process to include a single subject in three different styles. That said, it does not have to be the same poem each time. Write from different points of view. Write pro, write again, just write

3) Professionalism verses perfection. A professional gets the work done. A hobbyist makes excuses. Write well and competently, but this is about completing the assignment, not writing the best poem in the history of the world.

If I seem brusque, I apologize. It is my nature when I am teaching. I am always open to contrary views, but if I don't state my purpose, how will anyone know on what to disagree?

---------------------------------------------------------

Jonathan Moore

author comment

and where do you want poem(s) posted and do you want them one at a time or in a particular order with a space of time in between? And don't worry about being brusque.......stan

Post your free verse poem between May 10 and 14. We'll critique it while you are prepping your sonnet.

---------------------------------------------------------

Jonathan Moore

author comment

Will start work now

sorry to break the timeline. I seldom get a chance to think and act these days so please forgive me.

cheers,
Jess
A new workshop on the most important element of poetry-
'Rhythm and Meter in Poetry'
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/rhythm-and-meter-poetry

I saw you posted them and thought, "Jess is being proactive, just in case. Excellent."

---------------------------------------------------------

Jonathan Moore

author comment

I won't be badgering individuals to submit, this is a Shark Pool workshop. But if you are participating, participate or send me a note you can't.

It's what professionals do.

And we are professionals.

---------------------------------------------------------

Jonathan Moore

author comment

The free verse poem I submitted on my subject (chair) has got only negative comments so far. Is it really that bad?

No verse is free for the man who wants to do a good job. - TS Eliot

http://www.wsgeorge.com/

I would not characterize my critique as negative.

As with every critique I have given, I point out what I believe needs to be addressed and what I believe works.

I would characterize my critique as "professional," your job is to take the critique offered and review your work so you can determine what, if anything, you believe warrants modification.

---------------------------------------------------------

Jonathan Moore

author comment

no-one called it epiphanic or ground-breaking but hardly all negative, William. I see the word excellent used at least twice and I posted both a general suggestion re enjambment and a defense of your thesis.

cheers,
Jess
A new workshop on the most important element of poetry-
'Rhythm and Meter in Poetry'
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/rhythm-and-meter-poetry

(not that anyone need notice), but I had taken ill.
I'm back.
And I have posted my free verse receiving several helpful critiques.

W. H. Snow

A poet is a nightingale, who sits in darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds. Percy Bysshe Shelley

Learn how, teach others.
The NeoPoet Mentor Program
http://www.neopoet.com/mentor/about

Write your last critiques, finish your last edits, it's time to move on to your sonnets.

Get cracking!

---------------------------------------------------------

Jonathan Moore

author comment

for my absence from this shop. .. I haven't had internet connection for the past week.
I'll post my sonnet today, then try to catch up with my critiquing over the next few days....
xxx

'Each for the joy of the working, and each, in his separate star,
shall draw the Thing as he sees It, for the God of Things as They are.'
(Rudyard Kipling)

It's all wrong and I need to re-write it.

cheers,
Jess
A new workshop on the most important element of poetry-
'Rhythm and Meter in Poetry'
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/rhythm-and-meter-poetry

A cursed sonnet, my Achilles heel. Well......everybody will be so busy shredding mine that they'll likely have no time to spare for others lol. Now I gotta Write something that at least resembles a sonnet.....grumble, grumble............stan

No pressure.

---------------------------------------------------------

Jonathan Moore

author comment

You forced me to submit my worst sonnet.

No verse is free for the man who wants to do a good job. - TS Eliot

http://www.wsgeorge.com/

It's a gift.

---------------------------------------------------------

Jonathan Moore

author comment

We've lost some folks and that's okay. This is not a success versus fail workshop and if all you've done is push yourself a little, that alone is progress.

Haiku time.

Get cracking.

---------------------------------------------------------

Jonathan Moore

author comment

but maybe you've missed my sonnet?
xxx

'Each for the joy of the working, and each, in his separate star,
shall draw the Thing as he sees It, for the God of Things as They are.'
(Rudyard Kipling)

There's been a lot of good work by everyone and I may have missed a submission or two.

I'll go back and review.

---------------------------------------------------------

Jonathan Moore

author comment

and interesting shop Jon
Thank you
xxx

'Each for the joy of the working, and each, in his separate star,
shall draw the Thing as he sees It, for the God of Things as They are.'
(Rudyard Kipling)

I do not work well under pressure. This is an eye opener (or blackener depending on your perspective).

W. H. Snow

A poet is a nightingale, who sits in darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds. Percy Bysshe Shelley

Learn how, teach others.
The NeoPoet Mentor Program
http://www.neopoet.com/mentor/about

It's May 27th and we are ahead of schedule.

Way ahead of schedule.

We are so far ahead of schedule that, unless there is an objection, I plan on closing the workshop tomorrow, May, 28th.

Let me know your thoughts, your observations, what you think went well, what you think needed work, what you liked, what you did not like.

This is not a request for personal acclaim or beratement. It is a "lessons learned" recap so it might aid other workshops.

---------------------------------------------------------

Jonathan Moore

author comment

I believe this was another successful workshop. It enhanced the previous ones and added to them by critiquing different styles. I think that was a really clever way of the well planned syllabus. I also liked the strict agenda so everything is clear for everyone even before getting it started. I wish we would have more of these work shops especially in critiquing.
Thanks for the time and the effort. Always appreciate it.

❤❤❤❤❤❤

Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words
........Robert Frost☺

Please follow me on Instagram
https://instagram.com/poetry.jo?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Not only was the multiple style agenda challenging, but I appreciated the timeline. Okay, I didn't really like it, but that's because it did its job and forced me to write quickly with an eye toward editing later.
Writing epopee as I do speed is of the essence. I have a great deal more story than I have time to write it. The faster I produce, the sooner I am editing where my greater strength lies.
I'm not going to insist on a timeline for all future workshops, but I would suggest it.

W. H. Snow

A poet is a nightingale, who sits in darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds. Percy Bysshe Shelley

Learn how, teach others.
The NeoPoet Mentor Program
http://www.neopoet.com/mentor/about

Since there's been no objection, I will close the workshop.

Please let me know your thoughts on what you cared for, what you did not, and what we might do better next time.

---------------------------------------------------------

Jonathan Moore

author comment

I am glad to be proved wrong, fucking good on you mate. Excellent workshop.
Getting proved wrong, especially for an opinionated bastard like me, helps me find what might be right.
Thank you, Jonathon. I really hope you run more workshops, your skills are manifest.
The workshop will continue under its own steam while everyone fulfils their commitment to critique other's works
Cheers

cheers,
Jess
A new workshop on the most important element of poetry-
'Rhythm and Meter in Poetry'
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/rhythm-and-meter-poetry

I honestly and sincerely appreciate your comments.

---------------------------------------------------------

Jonathan Moore

author comment

for the successful workhop. I'm looking forward to your next one.

Alid

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