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.

This is a four-week long workshop starting on Monday, October 27th from 7:00 PM–9:30 PM ET. This workshop is open to all writers of color.

Check out the class page for more information. To see all of our upcoming classes, visit kundiman.org/online-classes.