What is poetry workshop?

The philosophy behind workshop is that writers will learn to be better writers by working with other writers who are engaged in similar efforts (writing poetry is one) and who share similar goals. Together, this community of writers reads, critiques, praises, and questions each others' work. The shared goal is understanding what makes a poem (or other piece of writing) work and why, and if it doesn't work, to help the writer understand what might be revised so that it will work.

Workshop is not a scientific process. It's messy. Sometimes at the beginning it's uncomfortable. There are no real rules except that all members of the workshop community must respect the process and each other. Growth for any one writer occurs gradually. The workshop process intends for its members to see what others are doing, to see what works for them or what doesn't work for them. Also, when poets can see how their poem is received by the group, either rightly or wrongly interpreted, they may gain some insight into the effectiveness of their work.

For this class, students should prepare for workshop in the following ways:

* Read Being a Critic
* Review and understand the evaluation method for workshop participation
* Understand the idea of community and respect for the process

The Rules:

After having said there are no real rules, there are a few procedural rules that need to be followed for workshop to be effective. Here they are:

We sit in a circle.
Each person has a copy of everyone's poem.
When a writer reads his or her poem, we all listen carefully (the writer must read loud enough for all to hear, of course).
After the writer reads, he or she is not allowed to speak about the poem; the poem stands on its own strength from that point. The group may speculate on effective word choice or the meaning of an image, but may not ask the writer to clarify or
The group does not automatically equate the speaker of the poem with the writer.
Individuals must be allowed to address their concerns, praises, questions, etc. about the poem to the group without interruption or distraction (the person speaking "has the floor" always).
Analysis of technique is favored over interpretation as a general expectation. In other words, it is better to discuss how and why something means as opposed to simply talking about what it means. Read Being a Critic for how to do this.
Workshop members who offer empty praise without support do not help the poet understand his or her work. For example, it's nice to hear "I like it," but after awhile, we want to know why you like it. What was there that affected you or said something to you? Likewise, when we hear, "I don't get it," we want to know why not. Do you mean overall or just this line or stanza? Is there a word you don't know? Is there an image you can't relate to? Does a metaphor not work for you? What is it that you don't get, specifically?

The rules are important to follow. The last two are especially important for any real progress to be made. At some point, the group needs to become a community of writers who honestly do care about the work each other does.