We’re excited to announce new online classes for this November! Ayesha Raees is teaching a four-week poetry workshop, and Ariel Chu will teach a one-day fiction craft class.
More information is below, and you can browse the lineup of present and past classes here.
Reading and Writing the Asian Poetic Form with Ayesha Raees
Workshop:
Mondays, 7:00 PM–9:30 PM ET
October 27th–November 17th
Open to all writers of color
Either through prosody, context, or both, a form in poetry ultimately serves as the foundation of identity. The Ghazal comes forth with its systematic pattern in repetition while the articulate Haiku lies with its power of context, connecting the mundane of the personal to the significance of the spiritual. Let it be the meter in a line, length of a stanza, or thematic concern– such aspects of prosody and context have built traditions in poetry through the lens of history and culture while connecting the personal with the political.
In this intensive reading and writing workshop course, students will be learning the foundations of prosody as well as identifying patterns in context through Asian (both traditional and anglicized) poetic forms, some including but not limited to ghazal, haiku, haibun, rubaiyat, etc. We will be delving into the larger questions of how identity functions in poetry, language, and translation, especially in the light of cultural histories and contemporary transgressions. Furthermore, we will be reading poetry from both contemporary and traditional Asian/Asian diasporic poets and exercising our eyes for analytical, critical and creative thinking. Students are expected to write in correspondence to the readings and give supportive feedback in an emphatically curated workshop setting.
Experimental Writing: The Speculative, Surreal, and Strange with Ariel Chu
Craft Class:
Saturday, 2:00 PM–4:30 PM ET
November 8th
Open to all writers of color
What new truth-telling possibilities are granted by experimental modes, hybrid genres, and surreal forms of expression? This generative workshop explores how contemporary experimental prose, poetry, and mixed forms break, reshape, and reinterpret “reality.” Through close readings of passages, exploration of new genres, and students’ own experimental work, we’ll dive into writing that pushes the boundaries of form, content, and imagination. We’ll also discuss the political implications of experimental writing, especially in the context of Asian American history.
All classes will take place on Zoom and the class times listed are in Eastern Time. There are scholarships available and deadlines are listed on the individual course pages.
View our full selection of online classes on our Online Classes Page.
See you online!