How Do I Begin and End? A Poetry Workshop with Sharon Dolin (via Zoom)

Entrances and exits to a poem are usually more problematic than its middle, yet many poets struggle with these two vital moments in a poem or else find themselves repeating the same gestures and techniques. As T.S. Eliot wrote in The Four Quartets, “What we call the beginning is often the end / And to make an end is to make a beginning.” In this three-hour workshop, we look at outstanding examples of poems deploying different strategies for opening and closing. Afterwards, in a supportive atmosphere, we discuss at least one poem by each participant to suggest ways to sharpen its beginning and ending to make the poem as engaging as possible.

NB: This class will be taught on Zoom and will be capped at 12 students. Registrants will receive the Zoom link to the email address they use to register. It will arrive immediately after registration so please check your spam folder if you do not receive it. It will also be sent the day before class as a reminder. Please review the course policies page before registering for any classes. Please email ask @writerscenter.org with any questions.

Sharon Dolin is the author of seven books of poetry, most recently Imperfect Present (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2022); a prose memoir entitled Hitchcock Blonde (Terra Nova Press, 2020); and two books of translation, most recently Late to the House of Words: Selected Poems by Gemma Gorga (Saturnalia Books, 2021), winner of Saturnalia Books Malinda A. Markham Translation Prize and a Finalist for the 2022 Griffin Poetry Prize. The recipient of an NEA Fellowship, Fulbright Scholarship, Pushcart Prize, and Witter Bynner Fellowship, Dolin is Associate Editor of Barrow Street Press and teaches poetry workshops in New York City.