Twoness Poems
with E. Ethelbert Miller, Miho Kinnas
| Single-Day Webinar |
$115.00
Video-Based
Please plan to take this workshop as a pair with another poet, writer, friend, or family member. Your one registration covers enrollment for both of you in the course. We will be exploring and learning to writetwoness poems: poems written collaboratively, line-by-line, by two people.
When a poet works closely with another poet, we will not only know that other poet better—our understanding of ourselves and of poetry (poetry is one’s heart) also transforms.
In this one-day workshop, we will introduce our own twoness poems, and explore the creation of collaborative poetry. You will begin writing a collaborative poem, and we will offer suggestions on the final draft that you will send the following week. We will be available for free individual /pair Zoom review sessions on another date following the course. The goal of the class is to show how freeing the twoness poetry can be. This workshop is a step toward sharing the joy of twoness among as many poets and writers as possible. We will have a wonderful Valentine’s Day evening together.
To experience “Twoness Poems” by E. Ethelbert Miller and Miho Kinnas is to accept an invitation into a world of friendship, beauty and surprise.
—Renee Shea
Please join us as two poets wishing to write together: couples (married or unmarried), friends, siblings, parent and child. We request that both participants be over 18.
Learning and Writing Goals
You will learn:
- the pros and cons of collaborating on poetry;
- different ways to write poetry together;
- what you should be aware of, before, during and after writing linked poetry;
- the importance of setting a goal;
- what type of poem to start;
- some historical examples.
You will:
- begin two pieces of collaborative writing.
- email the final draft to the instructors; they will respond with comments and suggestions.
Webinar Schedule
This workshop will meet from 7-9 P.M. U.S. Eastern Time.
Hour One
Introduction
Miho and Ethelbert will use twoness poems they’ve written to discuss the following topics:
- How to begin.
- How do you approach a poem? Writing line by line, stanza by stanza.
- How to produce twoness Couplets, Tercet, Sonnets, or Odes.
- How to keep the conversation flowing.
- Why it’s better not to explain while writing.
- Emails work perfectly.
- Finishing a poem within hours, a morning or afternoon, or a day.
- How to respond to the previous line – different styles and approaches.
- How to end a twoness poem.
- Planning vs. spontaneity.
- Taking different roles in different poems.
Hour Two
- Collaboration? Collage?
- Hands on! Let’s try it! (Breakout rooms for 15 minutes.)
- How are twoness poems different from Renku/Renga or Rengay?
- Open discussion and Q&A.
- Submitting twoness poems to journals.
Student Feedback for E. Ethelbert Miller, Miho Kinnas:
About E. Ethelbert Miller
E. Ethelbert Miller, is a writer and literary activist. He is the author of two memoirs and several books of poetry including The Collected Poems of E. Ethelbert Miller, a comprehensive collection that represents over 40 years of his work. Miller’s poetry has been translated into nearly a dozen languages. For 17 years he served as the editor of Poet Lore, the oldest poetry magazine published in the United States. Miller is a two-time Fulbright Senior Specialist Program Fellow to Israel. He holds an honorary degree of Doctor of Literature from Emory and Henry College and has taught at several universities.
Miller is host of the weekly WPFW morning radio show On the Margin with E. Ethelbert Miller and host and producer of The Scholars on UDC-TV which received a 2020 Telly Award. In recent years, Miller has been inducted into the 2015 Washington DC Hall of Fame and awarded the 2016 AWP George Garrett Award for Outstanding Community Service in Literature and the 2016 DC Mayor's Arts Award forDistinguished Honor. In 2018, he was inducted into Gamma Xi Phi and appointed as an ambassador for the Authors Guild. Most recently, Miller was given a grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and a congressional award from Congressman Jamie Raskin in recognition of his literary activism. Miller serves as a board member for the DC Collaborative for Humanities and Education, The Inner Loop, and Folger Shakespeare Poetry. He was awarded the 2019 Literary Award for poetry by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association for his book If God Invented Baseball. Miller’s latest book is How I Found Love Behind the Catcher's Mask, published by City Point Press.
Ethelbert's Courses
About Miho Kinnas
Miho Kinnas, a 2019 & 2023 Pushcart Prize nominee, is a Japanese poet, author, and translator. In 2023, a poetry collaboration with E. Ethelbert Miller, We Eclipse into The Other Side, was published by Pinyon Publishing, Best American Poetry 2023 selected her poem, Three Shrimp Boats On The Horizon, initially published in Wet Cement Magazine. Her translation appeared in Tokyo Poetry Journal Vol. 12. She is the author of two poetry collections: Today, Fish Only and Move Over, Bird (Math Paper Press). Kinnas serves as Artist in Residence or conducts various haiku/poetry workshops at, including Pat Conroy Literary Center, Life-Long Learning, Heritage Library, Richland Library, Island Writers Network, Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard University, local schools, and Shanghai Literary Festival. She teaches translation at Tender Leaf Translation (https://courses.tenderleavestranslation.com.) She holds an MFA in creative writing (poetry) from the City University of Hong Kong.