Kathleen McClung: Embracing the Hush Hour – Deepen Your Poetry Practice

8 Fridays, February 10, February 24, March 10, March 24, April 14, April 28, May 12, May 26, 6-8pm

Slow down from the hustle of the week and turn inward to shape and polish your poems in a warm, comfortable space. “In our time together,” says instructor Kathleen McClung, “we’ll read and talk about work by contemporary writers such as Corrinne Hales, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Kim Bridgford and others. We’ll borrow and build from diverse published poems and tune into our own observations, memories, imaginations, rhythms. We’ll test drive various traditional forms—cento, ghazal, sonnet—as well as explore the elasticity of free verse, aiming for that fine balance of mystery and clarity in each line and stanza.”

The goal of this intimate 8-session class is for each person to finish a handful of new poems for potential publication. We’ll be drafting or revising a poem in between each class meeting; plan to complete 4-8 new works by the end of the class in May. Along the way we’ll share constructive feedback and discuss a variety of resources, including print and online journals, reading series, and contests as possible homes for our wide-ranging work.

This workshop is open to all writers who value the synergy and support of a small group guided by an experienced teacher. Join us two Fridays a month for a replenishing “hush hour” dedicated to moving in fresh and fruitful directions, deepening our craft, and expanding our reach as poets.

Kathleen McClung, author of Almost the Rowboat, and finalist for Gunpowder Press’s 2016 Barry Sacks poetry prize, has poems in Mezzo Cammin, Unsplendid, Atlanta Review, Ekphrasis, Heron Tree, Naugatuck River Review, A Bird Black as the Sun: California Poets on Crows and Ravens, Raising Lilly Ledbetter: Women Poets Occupy the Workspace, and elsewhere. Winner of the Rita Dove poetry prize, Maria W. Faust sonnet award, and Shirley McClure poetry prize from the 2016 Los Gatos-Listowel Writers Festival, McClung judges sonnets for the Soul-Making Keats literary competition and reviews books for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing.  She has mentored hundreds of writers at Skyline College, the Writing Salon, and other colleges and community centers. www.kathleenmcclung.com