- Online
- $695
It happens to the best of us: you sit down to write something new and what comes out feels suspiciously similar to a poem someone else has already written. The turns of phrase might work, but they just don’t seem to capture the perspectives and experiences you hope to.
In this all-levels writing course, move away from a default “poem-voice” that can sometimes invade poetry toward a unique voice that’s recognizable, inimitable and true to your own self-expression.
If you don’t have a vision just yet, the readings, assignments and reflections will help you unearth one.
Note: This is a sibling course to Possibility and Play: Foundations of Poetic Practice. The courses are built to complement one another and can be taken as standalones or in any order.
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Understand how voice operates in poetry
- Close read a poem to identify the function of voice within it
- Ask and answer questions about yourself and your writing for the purpose of developing your poetic voice
- Recognize and wield concrete and figurative language to enhance voice
- Experiment with form and content to expand the limits of your unique voice
- Employ revision tactics and apply instructor and peer feedback to enrich a poem with voice
- Create moments of vulnerability in your poems through gentle self-interrogation
Course outline
Week 1: Language as a building block of voice
Week 2: Self-Interrogation 1 – Discover what drives your writing
Week 3: What is voice? Elements and levels of voice in poetry
Week 4: Bending your voice into unfamiliar shapes
Week 5: Revising to enhance your poetic voice
Week 6: Self-Interrogation 2 – Accessing vulnerability
Instructor
Molly Cross-Blanchard (she/her) is a white and Métis writer, educator and editor born in Treaty 3 (Fort Frances, ON), raised in Treaty 6 (Prince Albert, SK), and currently living in Treaty 1 (Winnipeg, MB). She is a grant writer for Room Magazine and a post-secondary teacher of Indigenous Studies. Molly's poetry collection, Exhibitionist, was published with Coach House Books in 2021 and she’s currently working on a collection of short stories about Truly Horrible Women.
Meet Molly Cross-Blanchard.
How am I assessed?
This course is marked complete/incomplete, and is based on your attendance and participation. Your instructor provides you personalized feedback on the assignments you submit.
Record of completion
Students who have successfully completed a course can access completion documents two weeks after the course ends. Course completion means 80% attendance and/or 80% completion of mandatory assignments.
Expected effort
Expect to spend three to four hours per week completing coursework, participating in the online discussions and attending an optional group video chat.
Technology requirements
To take this course, and for the best experience, we recommend you have access to:
- an email account
- a computer or laptop using Windows or macOS or a tablet
- the latest version of a web browser (or previous major version release)
- a reliable internet connection.
For virtual office hours, you’ll also need:
- a video camera and microphone.
One day before the start of your course, we’ll email you step-by-step instructions for accessing your course.
Course format
This course is 100% online and instructor supported with an optional weekly Zoom session. Course work is done independently and at your own pace within deadlines set by your instructor. Log in anytime to your course to access lessons as they become available from week to week. Optional office hours are available by appointment.
Online materials will be available for three weeks after the course ends, after which time you will no longer be able to access the course.
