• Poets and writers in Konya for The Same Gate
    Cappadocia landscape
    The author at the tomb of Yunus Emre
    Sema ceremony of the Whirling Dervishes
    Entering Rumi's tomb
    Cultural Diplomacy, Poetry, and Love
    A guest post by Bina Shah.[iae|313|r]Come, come, whoever you are.Worshipper, wanderer, lover of leaving, it doesn't matter.Ours is not a caravan of despairCome, even if you have broken your vows a thousand timesCome, yet again, come, come.- RumiOne...
  • Celebrating the Water Festival in Yangon, Myanmar
    "On Going Home"—Pandora, IWP ’12, Burma/Myanmar
    On Going Home is the name we've given to a short series of essays by our fall residents. We commissioned the pieces because we wanted to keep in touch and were curious about what the process of returning home was like for authors who'd spent...
  • US-based Iranian poet and translator Sholeh Wolpe takes pictures outside of Rumi Shrine and Museum complex in Konya
    Turkish writer Emre Erdem, Nigol Bezjian, Esin Celebi Bayru (Rumi's granddaughter 21 generations removed), Chris Merrill
    Poet Somaia Rumish of Afghanistan reading Rumi inside the Armenian church in Karaman
    Filmaker Nigol Bezjian gets footage of Iranian-born, Sweden-based writer Jila Estakhri
    THE SAME GATE: Poets gather in Turkey for creative exchange celebrating Rumi
    “Inside the Great Mystery that is, we don’t really own anything.What is this competition we feel then,before we go, one at a time, through the same gate?”─Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi Last Friday, 17 poets and writers from the U.S., Syria,...
  • WhitmanWeb: A Multimedia Gallery: http://iwp.uiowa.edu/whitmanweb/
    Web Gallery Adds 3 New Languages to Global Conversation on Whitman
    This week, the International Writing Program (IWP) adds Arabic, Polish, and the first-ever Malay translation of Walt Whitman’s famous poem “Song of Myself” to the 9-language WhitmanWeb multimedia gallery. The gallery, which presents one section of...
  • Poet and filmmaker Nick Twemlow will teach this summer's Poetry Masterclass
    Poetry Masterclass with Nick Twemlow
    Once you’ve written the first draft of a poem, what happens next? Find out by applying for the International Writing Program (IWP)’s upcoming Poetry Masterclass, one of two free 7-week virtual poetry seminars to be taught online through IWP Distance...
  • On the Map: Interviews with 2012 Fall Residents
    “Writers in Burma have to find a way to penetrate censorship; we have to be more innovative in terms of techniques, style, technology…more creative” –Pandora (Burma/Myanmar)This month, the International Writing Program (IWP) released the 2012...
more
Home » Blogs » ardavidson's blog

Start 2013 with a Free Poetry Course

Posted by Ashley Davidson on January 03, 2013
Poet Margaret Ross, author of Decay Constant, will teach the course.

What’s your New Year’s resolution? Why not start 2013 off with a free poetry writing course?

What is it? When can I start?

From February 18th to April 1st, IWP Distance Learning will offer a free 7-week Virtual Poetry Seminar. Poet Margaret Ross will lead the weekly live online sessions and offer students regular feedback on their writing.

In the seminar (taught in English), students will read and discuss modern and contemporary poems that convey complex experience through a wide range of formal strategies. Readings will include poems by Francis Ponge, Gertrude Stein, Elizabeth Bishop, Michael Palmer, and others. Students will also complete writing exercises designed to broaden the scope of their own poetry and generate vivid new work through formal, rhythmic, and imagistic discovery. [Work will not be graded, and is not eligible for University of Iowa credit.]

Who is eligible?

Since this course is offered entirely online, anyone with an internet connection is encouraged to apply. The course is designed for advanced writers with an active commitment to reading poetry and refining their craft, though no previous experience is required. The course will be limited to fifteen writers by application only. International writers are encouraged to apply.

Who is the instructor?

Margaret Ross is a graduate of Harvard University and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and author of the recent poetry chapbook Decay Constant. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Boston Review, Colorado Review, Denver Quarterly, Fence, Iowa Review, and Volt. She has taught poetry courses at the University of Iowa and at Cornell College.

How do I apply?

Submit a resume, a statement of purpose, and a writing sample (in English, no more than 5 pages of poems) to iwpapplications@gmail.com. The deadline for submitting an application is January 28th, 2013. Questions? Email them to iwpapplications@gmail.com. For more information about IWP Distance Learning, see our December 20th blog interview with distance learning coordinator Rebecca Boyle.

»