Hi there. Are you familiar with MOOCs? Massive Open Online Courses? Basically, they are free uni courses offered by various institutions. There's a great one out of Penn on Modern Poetry that repeats every September and there is also this one from Iowa. Steve and I signed up last time (and maybe Will, too, not sure). Steve was much better than I was at doing the exercises but I'm committing to it this time again. Here's an intro email with links:
Dearest Writers,
Greetings from the University of Iowa!
Our new MOOC, How Writers Write Poetry 2015, opens next week! This seven-week online poetry writing course is open to everyone in the world, free of charge, and will be taught in English. Class discussions will run 24/7, so you can join us from any time zone. Watch our welcome video here on Vimeo or here on YouTube.
If you have already registered, we can't wait to see you -- and if you haven't, come sign up! How Writers Write Poetry 2015 will present video lectures from a diverse group of poets, including:
Robert Hass ~
"This is a matter of feeling the rhythm of two lines"
Camille Rankine ~
"The power of repetition is not only to build up, but to take apart"
James Galvin ~
"Poetry is a way of surviving"
No previous writing experience is necessary, only a stable internet connection. If you cannot stream video, the course will offer small low-res video files, audio files, and transcripts for quick downloading. If you would like to take this course but do not have stable internet access, please contact us at distancelearning.iwp@gmail.com.We are working with U.S. Embassies around the world to support local MOOC viewing and discussion groups and would love to support one near you.
Class will start on Monday, March 23! Sign up here:
https://www.canvas.net/browse/canvasnet/uofiowa/courses/how-writers-write-poetry.
Until then, you can find our community on Facebook and Twitter at #heypoets. We're looking forward to writing with you!
Sincerely,
Susannah Shive, Distance Learning Coordinator
International Writing Program
University of Iowa