Poetry Studio

In The Writing Salon’s Studio classes, writers engage in a close-knit community dedicated to craft development, creative exploration, and the revision of in-progress pieces.

“Poetry often begins in a flash: an image, a phrase, a question, a contradiction, a feeling we can’t quite name,” says instructor Kathy Garlick. “But bringing a poem fully to life usually requires a different kind of attention—the willingness to return to the draft, listen more deeply, and discover what the poem is asking to become.”

In this 6-week Poetry Studio, students will work with persona, image, form, verbal music, and surprise as pathways into stronger, more resonant poems. Each week, we’ll read contemporary and classic poems with an eye toward craft: how a poem turns, how it builds pressure, how it uses silence and sound, and how it moves between the concrete and the mysterious. These readings will help spark new work while giving us a shared vocabulary for discussing poems with precision and care.

Workshop will form the heart of the class. Participants will share poems in progress and receive thoughtful, specific feedback from the instructor and classmates, with attention to what is already alive in the work as well as where the poem might deepen, open, tighten, or transform. Alongside workshop, guided exercises will offer opportunities to generate new material, loosen habit, and approach revision as a creative act.

By the end of 6 weeks, you’ll have a small portfolio of new and revised work, practical strategies for continuing on your own, and a supportive community of writers who can help you see your poems with fresh eyes.

About The Writing Salon's In-Person Classes

Before your class meets, you'll receive an email from The Writing Salon with more information about the class. If you have any questions about in-person learning, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at hello@writingsalons.com.