How Writers Write Poetry 2015

This course is now closed. To access the course materials for free, visit: http://www.distancelearningiwp.org/poetry15

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April 2015: The International Writing Program at the University of Iowa will open a new Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on the craft of writing poetry. This course will be offered completely free and is open to anyone who wishes to register.

Instructors

This MOOC will be taught by Christopher Merrill, Director of the International Writing Program, Professor of English at the University of Iowa, and author of six collections of poetry, five works of nonfiction, and many works of translation; and Camille Rankine, Assistant Director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Manhattanville College and author of the poetry collection Incorrect Merciful Impulses.

MOOC Description

How Writers Write Poetry 2015 will be taught in English as follows: each week, instructors Merrill and Rankine will post a new video class. In this video class, they will introduce two or three short video lectures given by successful authors of poetry. Each week, the video class will be followed by a set of writing assignments. These assignments will invite you to write poetry, post your work to the MOOC website, and engage in community feedback with your fellow writers. Each week, a team of teaching moderators will lead live discussions of the video topics and the challenges of the writing assignments around the clock in the MOOC discussion forum.

Happening Now

  • In addition to becoming the Berlin LitFest’s first curator-in-residence, Helon Habila has also just received Kaduna Books and Art Festival’s KabaFest Lifetime Achievement Award, celebrating his "exceptional writing and significant contributions to the development of literature globally."

  • Congratulations to Enah Johnscott, whose film Half Heaven won three awards at the Cameroon International Film Festival—best film, best director, and best cinematographer.

  • We regret the passing, on April 11, 2024, of the distinguished Romanian author and critic Dan Cristea, who served as the editor in chief of the Luceafărul de Dimineață cultural monthly. In addition to being an alum of the 1985 Fall Residency, Cristea received his PhD in Comparative Literature at the University of Iowa.

  • Our congratulations to 1986 Fall Residency writer Kwame Dawes, who has been named the new poet laureate of Jamaica.

  • Congratulations to our colleagues Jennifer Croft and Aron Aji, who are among those serving as judges for the National Book Awards this year, in their case in the category of translated literature.

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