Online Poetry Writing Courses
Explore and grow as a poetry writer in our online poetry courses. Collaborate with other serious poets, and enjoy direct interaction with and feedback from our award-winning instructors.
We’re here to support you through all stages of your poetry writing journey, from deepening in craft elements to exploring genre and form to developing and honing your collection.
Our instructors are both published poets and experienced educators, and they're dedicated to supporting you—whatever your personal goals, level of experience, or approach to poetry.
See our upcoming online poetry courses below, and learn how to choose the best poetry course for you. Our courses are filling fast, so reserve your spot today.
Upcoming Online Poetry Writing Courses
October Courses
The Spirituality of Poetry
with Joy Roulier Sawyer
Let the spirit of language move through you. In this 6 week course, we will study, write, and share poetry about the sacredness of human experience.
Death Riding Shotgun: How Awareness of Our Mortality Impacts Poetry
with Lisa C. Taylor
How can your own mortality inform your work? In this 6-week course, you'll use death to inspire and motivate your poetry writing.
Deep Waters: The Prose Poem Advanced Workshop
with Anna Scotti
Take the plunge in this advanced prose poetry course, where you'll write and revise short, powerful works of prose that hit like poetry.
Hived Like Honey in Your Head: The Art and Craft of Writing Confessional Poetry
with Meghan Sterling
Discover the power and intimacy of confessional poetry, and unlock your authentic voice.
Word Witch: Exploring the Strange Magic of Embodiment
with Erica Anzalone
Infuse your writing with the weird and wonderful: discover the transformative power of embodiment through the archetype of the witch.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story
Free Event: A Poetry Reading With Ollie Schminkey and Zach Goldberg
with Ollie Schminkey
Join us for a free reading with Ollie Schminkey and Zach Goldberg. Ollie will be reading poems from their recently published collection Where I Dry the Flowers, and Zach will be reading from his recently published collection I'd Rather Be Destroyed.The reading will conclude with a Q&A with both poets.
November Courses
Poetic Prose: The Prose Poem
with Barbara Henning
Explore the border between prose poetry and flash fiction. For writers of fiction, poetry, essay and memoir.
Radical Revision: Get Your Poems Published
with Caitlin Scarano
Radically reimagine your poems, by transforming your revision process. Ideal for poets working toward publication.
Nature’s Muse: Finding Inspiration through the Changing Seasons
with Elizabeth Winder
Galvanize your creative practice by deepening your connection to the natural world. Discover inspiration in the changing seasons, and generate fresh new writing.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story
December Courses
The Only Submission Workshop You Will Ever Need
with Meghan Sterling
How do you get your poems in literary journals? This two part webinar shows you the ropes for getting your work published, read, and celebrated.
Warp and Weft: Weaving Free Verse Poetry from Life
with Anna Scotti
Weave everyday events into deftly-written free verse poems in this generative, creativity-centered poetry workshop.
Poems of All Sizes: Haiku, Tanka, and Japanese Poetic Forms
with Miho Kinnas
Explore the history and poetics of Japanese poetry forms, and write haiku, tanka, renga, haiga, and linked verse poetry.
Call of the Weird: Poetry and Nature
with Caitlin Scarano
Turn your poetic lens towards the outdoors, where we'll put to verse everything strange and wonderful about the natural world.
Simple Winter Writing Circles
with Susan Vespoli
Write your way to the finish line of 2024: let go of and say goodbye to a momentous year, honor the changes in yourself and the world, and set your intentions for a new chapter.
January Courses
A Writerly Life: Develop a Writing Routine that Works for You
with Shelby Hinte
What does a writer's life look like? Build a productive writing habit in this course for writers of all backgrounds.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story
Opening the Door to Poetry
with Jude Nutter
How do we use poetry to express life's marvelous complexity? Learn how to control language beyond the "ordinary" and discover the many possibilities of poetry.
Both Fish and Fowl: The Prose Poem
with Anna Scotti
A successful prose poem reads like a magic trick. Learn how to wield the powers of poetry in the context of prose in this comprehensive prose poetry course.
Poetry Playhouse
with Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
Journey through the rooms of your poetic life. Explore your callings as a poet, sharpen your craft, and write and receive feedback on up to 20 new poems.
Start Your Writing Journey!
with Joy Roulier Sawyer
Launch yourself into writing: discover your unique voice, write 5 to 10 new pieces, and build and sustain a writing life.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story, Stage and Broadcast
The Craft of Poetry
with Jonathan J.G. McClure
Poetry is alive and well. Contemporary poets can be touching, terrifying, and laugh-out-loud funny. Join us for an exploration of writing and reading poems.
Observing What’s Vivid in Prose and Poetry
with Marc Olmsted
Learn how to spotlight beauty through fresh, vivid, and surprising language, in this four week mindfulness writing course.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story, Stage and Broadcast
A Poet’s Calling Card: Writing and Composing a Chapbook
with Caitlin Scarano
The poetry chapbook gives poets the chance to make a small, artful collection around a poetic obsession. Learn how to craft yours in this 8 week chapbook intensive.
February Courses
Crafting the Poetry Novel for Young Adults
with Kelly Bingham
Even if you’ve never written poetry before, you can begin the rewarding process of crafting a poetry novel for Young Adults. Is there a market for novels written in verse? Are they well received? Yes, there is, and yes, they are!
Mastering the Manuscript: Completing a Full-Length Poetry Manuscript (from Start to Finish)
with Ollie Schminkey
In this generative course, you'll write the bulk of the poems you'll use in your full-length manuscript, and learn how to structure them into a collection.
The Deep Dive: Poem As Self-Discovery
with Meghan Sterling
Through poetry, we can access our deepest truths. Use the poem as a roadmap to self-discovery in this 6-week poetic deep-dive.
The Healing Power of Poetry
with Joy Roulier Sawyer
Poetry heals. Journey alongside several poets whose works resonate with a variety of healing themes, and learn how to use craft elements as healing tools.
Poetry Workshop: Bring Your Poems to Life
with Rosemary Tantra Bensko
Join us for this workshop on creating powerful poems—poems that are clear and organized, fresh and moving, full of life.
March Courses
Writing with Consistency and Courage
with Tamara Dean
What makes a successful writer? It's not talent, craft, or even the right connections—it's consistency and courage.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Live Workshop, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story
The Joy of Poetry: A Beginner-Friendly Workshop
with Joy Roulier Sawyer
Have you wanted to get into poetry, but don't know where to start? Learn the craft from the Joy of poetry herself in this welcoming workshop.
May Courses
Crafting Poems in Form: Rhyme, Meter, Fixed Forms, and More
with Jonathan J.G. McClure
Working within the guidelines of a fixed poetic structure can make your poetry more creative, not less. Find freedom in form in this 8 week workshop.
June Courses
The Chronology of Mind: From Journal to Poem or Prose
with Barbara Henning
Gather material through writing and experimenting with journaling, researching and taking notes to develop into poems or prose works.
Unscheduled Courses
(Live Workshop) Haiku & Senryu: Rekindling A Sense of Wonder
with Marc Olmsted
Haiku, Senryu, and other Japanese poetry forms encourage us to slow down and write mindfully. Learn how to write these forms in this meditative writing workshop.
*Private Class | Poetry Workshop: Bring Your Poems to Life
with Rosemary Tantra Bensko
Join us for this workshop on creating powerful poems—poems that are clear and organized, fresh and moving, full of life.
*Private Class | The Craft of Poetry
with Jonathan J.G. McClure
Poetry is alive and well. Contemporary poets can be touching, terrifying, and laugh-out-loud funny. Join us for an exploration of writing and reading poems.
*Private Class | Using Bullet Journaling to Achieve Writing Goals
with Rudri Patel
Looking to keep your writing goals organized? Make it happen in our bullet journaling course. Learn the art of the BuJo with Rudri Patel!
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story, Stage and Broadcast
*Private Class | Writing with Tarot
with Sandra Novack
Jump-start your creative juices, and explore a world of divination, symbolism, and imagery right at your fingertips: learn short story and novel writing through Tarot.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story
30 Poems in 30 Days
with Ollie Schminkey
This National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo), build community and get feedback on your work while writing a poem every day.
A Crazy Little Thing Called Love: Writing Original Love Poems
with Lisa C. Taylor
How do poets write about love in fresh, surprising, original ways? Tackle the art of love poetry and write about all kinds of love in this generative workshop.
Architecture of the Creative Heart: Writing Formal Poetry
with David Mills
Course full. Contact us to join waitlist.
Learn how diving into form—the coherent relationship of all of a poem’s parts—can enhance your creativity and freedom as a poet.
Crafting the Poetry Novel: Advanced Workshop
with Kelly Bingham
Want to make headway on your poetry novel? This workshop offers the structure and resources to get it done, with instructor Kelly Bingham.
Drawing Poems: the Art of Visual Poetry
with Zining Mok
By melding poetry with design, visual poets can create multidimensional works of art and literature. Explore the craft in this visual poetry workshop.
Embodied Writing: Improve Your Writing with Full-Body Creativity
with Rosemary Tantra Bensko
Have a grand time with specific physical exercises that honor your health, generate imaginative ideas, explore deeply and make your creative writing entertaining.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story, Stage and Broadcast
Embodied Writing: Somatic Practices to Improve Your Work
with Rosemary Tantra Bensko
Have a grand time with specific physical exercises that honor your health, generate imaginative ideas, explore deeply and make your creative writing entertaining.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story, Stage and Broadcast
Even Smaller: Adventures in Short-form Writing
with Tina Barry
Less is more in this bite-sized writing class, where you'll learn how to tell complete stories under the tightest word counts.
Experiments in Poetry
with Elizabeth Winder
See poetry in a totally new light! Draw inspiration from the most radical, innovative, and imaginative poets in literary history, master their techniques, and write new exciting poems of your own.
Fall (Back) In Love with Poetry
with Moriel Rothman-Zecher
Whether you're new to poetry or returning after a hiatus, rekindle the spark that puts verse to page in this exploratory poetry class.
Finding Inspiration in Dreams
with Amy Bonnaffons
Our dreams are fertile fields of inspiration, meaning, and creativity. Learn how to use your dreams as doorways to future writing.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story
Finding Wildness and Freedom in Poetry
with Moriel Rothman-Zecher
Find a greater sense of comfort, ease, lightheartedness, and freedom in reading and writing poetry.
From the Source: Journaling for Self-Knowledge and Creativity
with Amy Bonnaffons
Journal to discover yourself, find a wellspring of creativity, and produce publication-ready pieces.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story, Stage and Broadcast
From Writing Circle to Finished Poem: Turn Raw Writing into Poetry
with Susan Vespoli
Course full. Contact us to join waitlist.
Text and Live VideoGather together in a virtual writing circle, hit the mute button on your internal editor, and uncover inspiration to shape into poetry.
From Writing Circle to Poems in 6 Contemporary Forms
with Susan Vespoli
From the sonnet to the villanelle, turn your journal entries into formal poetry in this 6 week writing circle workshop.
From Writing Circle to Poems in 8 Contemporary Forms (Tuesdays and Saturdays)
with Susan Vespoli
From the sonnet to the villanelle, turn your journal entries into formal poetry in this 8 week writing circle workshop.
From Writing Circle to Poems of Kindness, Wonder, Connection & Joy (Mondays and Fridays)
with Susan Vespoli
Only 2 seats left!
Text and Live VideoExplore the power of joy, kindness, and community in this four week poetry workshop.
From Writing Circle to Poems of Kindness, Wonder, Connection & Joy (Tuesdays and Saturdays)
with Susan Vespoli
Explore the power of joy, kindness, and community in this four week poetry workshop.
From Writing Circles to Poems of Gratitude & Hope for the New Year (Mondays and Fridays)
with Susan Vespoli
Want to move forward into the new year with gratefulness and clarity for 2024? Join us for 4 weeks of writing about gratitude and hope.
From Writing Circles to Poems of Gratitude & Hope for the New Year (Tuesdays and Saturdays)
with Susan Vespoli
Want to move forward into the new year with gratefulness and clarity for 2024? Join us for 4 weeks of writing about gratitude and hope.
From Writing Circles to Poems of Gratitude and Hope
with Susan Vespoli
Poetry is a powerful method for healing and happiness. Write poems about gratitude and hope in our intimate, live-video writing circles, with instructor Susan Vespoli.
Get Clear on Your Story and Voice
with Nadia Colburn
What is your story about? What is your voice? Whether you write poetry, fiction, or nonfiction, hone your writing in this 3 hour workshop.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Live Workshop, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story
Get It Done: Create the Scaffolding to Start (and Finish) a Writing Project
with Eman Quotah
Get your butt in the chair, your mind roaming freely, and your creative juices flowing in this motivational, all-genres writing class.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Live Workshop, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story, Stage and Broadcast
How to Craft a Poem
with Zining Mok
A poem can tell a story, communicate our innermost thoughts, and reveal what moves us most deeply. Craft poems that do all of this and more in this guided poetry workshop.
How to Start a Podcast
with Cara Stevens
Share your voice with the world! Learn everything you need to plan, record, and share your first podcast episode and beyond.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Live Workshop, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story, Stage and Broadcast
I’ve Drunk Your Poisoned Nectar: Writing with the Goddess
with Shankar Narayan
Dig deep into the rich mythology of South Asian goddesses to find new inspiration for your work in this generative, open-genre writing class.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story
Iconoclast: Reimagining the Line Break
with Shankar Narayan
Poets can express so much in just a line break. Hone this tool of the poetic craft in this two part Zoom workshop.
In Bloom: Nature Writing Workshop
with Dana De Greff
Only 3 seats left!
Text and Live VideoWant to write about nature like Robert Frost, Henry David Thoreau, or Annie Dillard? Join us for this six-week nature writing course.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story
It Starts with Play: Get (Back) into Writing
with Janée Baugher
Harness the joy of creativity in this inspiration-focused class, where we'll uncover new ideas for writing projects and draft loads of new material.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story, Stage and Broadcast
Long Night’s Journey into Day: Writing Poetry Through and About Serious Illness
with Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
Poetry can help us integrate and learn from our experiences as patients, survivors, and/or caregivers. Join a supportive community, explore poetic and healing traditions, and spark powerful poems into being.
Ordinary to Extraordinary: Turning Everyday Experiences into Poetry
with Tina Barry
No experience is too small or mundane to serve as a foundation for extraordinary poetry and short fiction.
Plumbing the Past: Turning Life Experience into Poetry, Flash and Creative Non-Fiction
with Tina Barry
Dig deep into personal ritual while studying narrative poets, short fiction and non-fiction authors, and food writers.
Poetry and Performance: Slam Poetry 101
with Ollie Schminkey
In these workshops, master the elements of poetry and performance, and learn to take your poems from the page to the stage.
Poetry as Sacred Attention
with Nadia Colburn
Poetry asks us to slow down, listen, and pay attention. In this meditative workshop, we'll open ourselves to the beauty and mystery of poetry.
Poetry II: Hone Your Voice for Emotional Impact
with Rosemary Tantra Bensko
Write more powerful poetry though sound, form, and image. Explore poetic craft and creativity to write your most imaginative and moving work.
Putting It All Together: Completing Your First Poetry Manuscript
with Caitlin Scarano
How do you put together a poetry book? From choosing a theme to ordering your poems, you'll end this course with a ready-to-publish manuscript.
Simple Summer Writing Circles
with Susan Vespoli
Sail through the summer and survive the heat with these chill writing circles, where you'll laugh, vent, and honor the season in poetry.
Sing the Body Electric: Poetry of the Body
with Andrea Jurjević
The human body is a continuous source of inspiration for poetry. Embody the poetic in this electric workshop.
Techwashed!: Writing with AI, Data, and Surveillance
with Shankar Narayan
Raise a mirror against society's relationship to technology in this two part workshop series where we will learn how to write about tech.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Live Workshop, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story
Telling Truth: A Poetry Workshop
with Ollie Schminkey
Learn how to tell your story and write a mini chapbook of poems in this truth-driven poetry workshop.
The Poetry of Play
with Joy Roulier Sawyer
Get playful in your poetry in this fun-focused workshop, where we'll experiment our ways into new and delightful poems.
The Surprising Sentence: Honing Your Prose Style
with Jessie Roy
Great sentences stack up into great stories. Learn how to hone your style and voice at the most basic unit of writing, the sentence, in this workshop.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Live Workshop, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story
Twoness Poems
with E. Ethelbert Miller, Miho Kinnas
Twoness poems are poems written collaboratively with another poet. Learn something new about yourself, your writing partner, and poetry in this collaborative Valentine's Day workshop.
Using Bullet Journaling to Achieve Writing Goals
with Rudri Patel
Looking to keep your writing goals organized? Make it happen in our bullet journaling course. Learn the art of the BuJo with Rudri Patel!
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Poetry
Using Your Poetry Skills to Write Memoir
with Freesia McKee
How do poets tell their stories in prose? Take the leap from poetry to memoir in this hybrid writing workshop.
What’s So Funny? Writing Poetic Humor
with Ollie Schminkey
Can a poem make the audience laugh out loud? Learn how to harness poetic humor in this class about knocking the reader's socks off.
Word Flashes & Eye Snapshots: Sketching Your Life Awake
with Marc Olmsted
For any writer wanting to root writing in vision and vision in the body: for poetry, fiction, essay, memoir & pleasure.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Memoir, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story
Write from the Untamed Mind: Find Your Voice
with Susan Vespoli
Join Susan in two writing circles each week: intimate spaces for writers to free-write together, saying yes to whatever shows up, followed by group read-arounds. These writing sessions are spontaneous, intimate, freeing, and transformative.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story
Writing Circle Workshop: A Focus on Eight Contemporary Poets (Section 2)
with Susan Vespoli
By studying the poems of Billy Collins, Ellen Bass, Natalie Diaz, and more, write stunning poetry in this generative writing circle workshop.
Writing Circle Workshop: A Focus on Nine Contemporary Poets
with Susan Vespoli
Write freely and expressively in this 8-week poetry workshop. Along the way, we'll explore the transformative work of 9 contemporary poets.
Writing Circle Workshop: A Focus on Six Contemporary Poets
with Susan Vespoli
By studying the poems of Mary Oliver, Diane Seuss, Matthew Olzmann, and Patricia Smith, and more, write stunning poetry in this generative writing circle workshop.
Writing Circle Workshop: Finding Community and Creativity in a Challenging Time
with Susan Vespoli
Write out the storm: Join supportive, friendly faces in twice-weekly virtual community writing circles.
Writing Circle Workshop: Moving Toward Creativity & Light
with Susan Vespoli
Connect with other writers, spark your creativity, and write light-filled poems in this writing circle workshop.
Writing Circle Workshop: Writing for Happiness, Healing, and Health (Monday/Friday)
with Susan Vespoli
Course full. Contact us to join waitlist.
Text and Live VideoExpressive writing can be a powerful elixir for what ails you. Learn and practice tools for writing expressively, including two virtual writing circles each week, turn raw writing into poetry or prose, and come away with a better understanding of how writing can lead toward wellness.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Memoir, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story
Writing Circle Workshop: Writing for Happiness, Healing, and Health (Tuesday/Saturday)
with Susan Vespoli
Course full. Contact us to join waitlist.
Text and Live VideoExpressive writing can be a powerful elixir for what ails you. Learn and practice tools for writing expressively, including two virtual writing circles each week, turn raw writing into poetry or prose, and come away with a better understanding of how writing can lead toward wellness.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Memoir, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story
Writing Circles & Exercises to Spark New Poems (Mondays and Fridays)
with Susan Vespoli
Looking for inspiration? Write, vent, laugh, and honor your writing practice in these generative writing circle workshops.
Writing Circles & Exercises to Spark New Poems (Tuesdays and Saturdays)
with Susan Vespoli
Looking for inspiration? Write, vent, laugh, and honor your writing practice in these generative writing circle workshops.
Writing Circles: Finding Community, Clarity, Poetry, and Prose
with Susan Vespoli
Join our writing circle to form a writing community, find clarity in your words, and turn your untamed free-writes into poetry and/or prose.
Writing Mindfulness: Sensual World/Poetry Mind
with Marc Olmsted
A four-week class, melding the language mind with the sensual: How to turn detailed observation into a poem. With Marc Olmsted.
Writing Poetry About Family Histories
with Freesia McKee
To write about our families means reconciling past and present, our origins and our futures. Put these contradictions to verse in this two part webinar.
You Are Drinker and You Are Wine: Writing with the South Asian Sufis
with Shankar Narayan
Through the traditions of Sufi poetry, learn how to write poems that access the divine and stand the test of time.
You Yourself Are the Beloved: Writing with South Asian Ghazals
with Shankar Narayan
The ghazal poem has a rich history with a tricky form to master. Learn the ropes in this inspiring and electrifying workshop.
How to Choose the Best Online Poetry Course for You: 8 Tips
by Jonathan McClure, Writers.com Poetry Instructor
If you’ve never taken poetry workshops online, it can be hard to tell if they’re worth your time and money. In truth, no two online poetry classes are the same, but there are certainly classes out there that will help you along your journey as a poet.
What do the best online poetry classes have in common? In this article, we’ll discuss eight things to know before signing up, so you can be sure whether online poetry writing classes are right for you.
The Best Online Poetry Classes: Contents
- 1. Online poetry classes offer more community than you might think
- 2. Taking poetry classes online is a lot of (fun!) work
- 3. Good online poetry writing classes mean lots of constructive criticism
- 4. Taking poetry workshops online involves even more reading than writing
- 5. There's no consensus on what makes writing good
- 6. Different people have different reasons for taking online poetry courses
- 7. Online poetry classes are useful for fiction writers and essayists, too
- 8. It matters who teaches your online poetry writing course
What to know before taking poetry classes online
1. Online poetry classes offer more community than you might think
Community is essential for writers. Writing may be solitary, but reading brings us together.
My first time sharing a poem in an (in-person) workshop was terrifying: I was 19, maybe 20, and had never even tried to write my own poem, let alone handed it over to a room full of strangers. I don’t remember what I wrote--something about stairs, I think. But I do remember the care and attention that my classmates brought to my work, and that I brought to theirs, and the relationships that grew from that workshop and continued for years. Years later, when I was leading in-person workshops for my own university students, I got to see that same camaraderie develop for them.
Community is essential for writers. Writing itself is such a solitary activity--just you and your thoughts and the page--that it can be easy to get discouraged, lose accountability and motivation, or just plain feel lonely. Discussing your writing with other people who care deeply about the art serves as an important reminder that you’re not just talking to yourself: writing may be solitary, but reading brings us together.
When I first started teaching online poetry classes, I was a bit apprehensive: how could online poetry writing classes allow for the same kind of community-building that I’d seen in in-person classes? I was pleasantly surprised to find that, if anything, my online poetry courses were more tight-knit: the online format and self-scheduled hours allowed students to give and receive more feedback on more poems than they would in a typical in-person class. And because of that, the students got to know one another—and one another’s work—in greater depth.
2. Taking poetry classes online is a lot of (fun!) work
There’s a persistent myth that poets are people who go off into the woods, think deeply, and come back to their desks just long enough to jot down their fully formed works of genius. As someone interested in poetry classes online, you know that this myth is silly—writing is hard work!
Taking poetry workshops online means not just writing your own new poems each week, but also reading and giving feedback on everyone else’s.
In an online poetry writing class, reading is hard work too. “Writerly reading” is very different than the way we normally read—different than the way you’re reading this article. When you’re reading as a writer, you’re not just reading for information or for story. Reading as a writer means reading that way, plus engaging with the text in an extremely hands-on way in order to understand it.
The poet William Carlos Williams described a poem as a machine made out of words. Reading like a writer means becoming a mechanic: if ordinary reading is like driving a car, then writerly reading is like taking apart the engine and giving it a tuneup.
So what does that mean in practice? Taking poetry workshops online means not just writing your own new poems each week, but also reading and giving feedback on everyone else’s. Not only that, but you’ll likely be revising your poems based on all the feedback that you receive each week.
It’s hard work, but it’s the best way to improve your own work and to help your cohort improve theirs.
3. Good online poetry writing classes mean lots of constructive criticism
If you’re thinking about signing up for poetry workshops online, you should know that online poetry writing classes involve a lot of constructive criticism—and that’s a good thing!
Online poetry writing classes involve a lot of constructive criticism—and that’s a good thing!
Even the best writers have to try again and again to get things right. Ernest Hemingway rewrote the ending of A Farewell to Arms over 40 times before he was satisfied; when asked what the problem was, he said, “Getting the words right.”
It took Robert Frost, one of the most famous poets of the last century, over twenty years to finish revising this sonnet!
The kind of feedback you get in an online poetry writing course will help you figure out how to go about “getting the words right.” And while it may seem intimidating or unpleasant at first, you’ll likely find that you value all of your classmates’ feedback—both positive and negative—very highly. In fact, I still have every critique letter I received during my MFA workshops filed away in a big drawer—I’ve carried them with me through 4 or 5 moves!
4. Taking poetry workshops online involves even more reading than writing
A good online poetry writing class instructor will help you find poems you love. What matters is your interest and willingness to learn.
When you sign up for online poetry writing classes, you'll spend at least as much time reading in your genre as you will writing in it. Many people who take online poetry courses don't expect how much time they’ll spend reading published poems, but it actually makes a lot of sense.
Imagine you wanted to learn to build a house, but you’d never seen someone do it before. You could probably figure it out, eventually, through trial and error. But you’d get much better, much faster (and have the walls tip over much less) if you watched some expert carpenters, studied what they did, and then put it into practice yourself. The same approach works for learning to build a poem.
Don’t worry if you don’t know many poems at the beginning—most people don’t, and a good online poetry writing class instructor will help you find poems you love. What matters is your interest and willingness to learn.
If you want to start reading right away, there are tens of thousands of wonderful classic and contemporary poems available for free online from the Poetry Foundation and the Academy of American Poets.
5. There's no consensus on what makes writing good
Some beginning poetry classes online students worry there’s something wrong with them because they don't "get" a particular published piece of poetry. If you’re considering an online poetry writing class, you should know that there’s a lot of disagreement on what makes a poem “good,” and there’s nothing wrong with not liking this or that famous poem.
One of the most valuable parts of an online poetry writing class is learning what you do and don’t like in a poem.
T.S. Eliot, one of the most recognized poets and critics of the last century, famously called Shakespeare’s Hamlet— widely considered one of the world’s great masterpieces—a “dramatic failure.” Mark Twain despised the work of Jane Austen, writing that “Every time I read Pride and Prejudice I want to dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone.” Poet Stanley Kunitz’s Selected Poems was rejected by eight publishers. Eventually a press did pick it up—and it won the Pulitzer Prize.
Think of it this way: you know that just because most critics liked a particular movie doesn’t mean you will. And you may not like the restaurant local foodies are raving about, if it doesn’t suit your personal taste. The same thing goes for poetry: we all have different tastes, and one of the most valuable parts of an online poetry writing class is learning what you do and don’t like in a poem.
6. Different people have different reasons for taking online poetry courses
Students join online poetry classes for all kinds of reasons. Some students want to explore a new genre, others want to prepare for MFA programs, and still others want to get their work ready for publication.
When you sign up for online poetry courses, think about what’s important to you, and be ready to learn from others with different goals.
In my online poetry writing classes, students are often surprised when I suggest that they can and should pursue publication. While I always provide information about how to get published, I never push students to do it. Some people want to publish; others don’t.
When you sign up for online poetry courses, think about what’s important to you, and be ready to learn from others with different goals.
7. Online poetry classes are useful for fiction writers and essayists, too
Online poetry courses help you learn to find the best possible way of saying something.
Even if poetry isn’t your primary genre, an online poetry writing class can still be very valuable for your work. Online poetry writing classes encourage you to examine writing extremely closely, thinking in fine detail about how seemingly small changes to a word (or even a punctuation mark) can dramatically change the poem as a whole.
Put another way, online poetry courses help you learn to find the best possible way of saying something—whether in poetry or in prose. While taking poetry classes online won’t involve detailed discussions of story structure, character, dialogue, and so on, online poetry classes can be invaluable in mastering beautiful prose style.
8. It matters who teaches your online poetry writing course
Before you sign up for online poetry classes, check out the instructor’s work and make sure that you’d feel comfortable taking writing advice from them. It’s not that you need to find a online poetry writing classes instructor with exactly the same aesthetic preferences as you. Nor do you need to be absolutely in love with your instructor’s work. But if you can’t stand the instructor’s work, their online poetry classes likely won’t be a good fit for you!
If you can’t stand the instructor’s work, their online poetry classes likely won’t be a good fit for you!
That said, it’s useful to have a wide range of perspectives on your work, and taking multiple online poetry writing classes with very different instructors can help you to think about your poems in new ways. For instance, one of my most influential poetry mentors is a very traditional poet, and the other is highly experimental. In learning from both of them, I was able to build my own unique style—just like you’ll learn to do in your online poetry classes.
About Our Online Poetry Writing Courses
We've been offering writing classes online since 1995 to all kinds of students. Whether you're completely new to the Internet (back then, everyone was) or more experienced learning online, our writing courses will be a great fit for you.
Online Course Platform
We offer our classes through an online course platform called PowerSchool. It's designed to be simple and usable for people without a technical background. You'll be sent instructions for joining your class in PowerSchool on the day it begins.
Weekly Assignments
Most classes are structured around weekly assignments: once each week, the teacher emails or posts a lecture to the list that includes a writing assignment, and the students complete the assignment and send it to the list. This means that the teacher and all students in the class see all completed assignments.
The instructor writes his or her feedback on the assignment and sends it back to the list, and students are encouraged to offer feedback on each others' work.
Additionally, some classes are set up as workshops, and are organized around feedback on student manuscripts.
There are no specific times that you must be online. This allows you to work on the class material at your convenience: it's the ideal way to take a class.
Class Discussion and Connection
The list also hosts class discussions about lessons, assignments, and writing in general. The more interaction among students, the more valuable and enjoyable the class. We offer guidelines to keep dialogue supportive and beneficial, and no negative or abusive behavior is allowed.
Writing can be a lonely pursuit, and it's often difficult for writers to make contact with each other. Part of our reason for being here is to change that. We encourage class members to develop ongoing correspondence in which they can share their work. Often a sense of community forms, and some groups have continued to work together long after the class is over.
With the odd "anonymous intimacy" of the Internet, it's easier to take chances in your writing, and to be honest and thoughtful in your criticism of others' writing. First-time students in our online writing courses are often surprised how much they learn, and how much they enjoy the experience.
If you have further questions, browse the writers.com FAQ.
What Sets Our Online Writing Courses Apart
At Writers.com, we have 25 years of experience offering the best writing classes online. Many elements set our courses apart:
- Our instructors are gifted, experienced teachers who are writers themselves. They also care about their students and the progress they make. Any good "school" or workshop can teach you the craft of writing; we offer personal attention and inspiration as well.
- Each instructor develops his or her own courses. Unlike other online writing schools, we have no prepared, prepackaged classes randomly taught by just anyone who has the time to teach it. You know exactly who your teacher will be before you ever register, and you'll receive feedback from that teacher on your writing.
- We accept a maximum of 12 students per class in most classes. You will never be a face in the crowd in a Writers.com class.
- We take your work seriously, but we also have fun. Some of our classes are rigorous and intense. If you want to be a professional writer, you need a tough, but supportive, environment. We have that. But we also offer other classes that are a chance to experiment, learn for the sheer joy of learning, explore new ideas, and discover new pathways.
- Our classes fit into your daily life – no matter what time zone you are in.
- If you are able to visit websites, you can participate fully in our classes. The course software is simple to learn and designed for learners of all kinds across the globe.
- Writers.com is operated by a small, dedicated staff of human beings who genuinely want to help you meet your writing goals. Having a technical problem, or finding that a course isn't the right fit for you? Contact us and we'll work it out, person-to-person.
Join one of our writing courses, and experience the Writers.com difference for yourself!