After a beautiful weekend in Vermont, I woke up feeling disappointed it was Monday. Our cabin is only 12x12; we don't have electricity or running water, but what we do have is the big sky, a meadow, a little pond where I went skinny dipping, and the opportunity to remember other possibilities and truths.
And so, this morning, before getting to work, to ward off that blah feeling, I sat down and read a poem—and then, though I hadn't planned to, I wrote a poem.
Poetry is one of the places I go when I want magic and wonder. Even if I can't leave my house, I can travel through poetry.
As Emily Dickinson once wrote:
There is no Frigate like a Book To take us Lands away Nor any Coursers like a Page Of prancing Poetry –
Poetry is also a place I go when I want to express my sorrows, my fears, where I go when I feel up against experiences I otherwise can't put into language.
If you want to explore how poetry can take you into new places and give name to the unnameable, there's still time to join me this week for my FREE Poetry Masterclass!
Even though I was feeling a bit blah about returning to work today, I'm super excited for this masterclass. 🙂
In the free class, you'll:
- Hone your ability to read and write poetry with greater attention, skill, and enjoyment
- Learn techniques to make your poems come alive on the page and sing
- Closely read inspiring work by poets such as Lucille Clifton, Mary Oliver, and Walt Whitman
- Explore poetry as a contemplative practice
- Enjoy a generative writing session
- Expand your creative practice and vision
- Have an opportunity to ask questions
This week's masterclass is my most robust free poetry offering and I'm only offering it this week (and Monday.)
It's for people with any level of poetry experience. Do come live if you can; something magic happens when we're together live, and there will be opportunities only for people who make it live 🙂 But if none of these times work for you, sign up for Friday's session to get the recording.
- Thursday, September 19th at 3pm ET / 12pm PT / 8pm UK
- Friday, September 20th at 12pm ET/ 9am PT/ 5pm UK
- Monday, September 23rd at 7pm ET/ 4pm PT
Here's what a few students said during a poetry masterclass I offered last year:
"Thank you; I feel excited about poetry after this class and wrote a poem that is going in a new, unexpected direction!"
"I can say without reservation, I have grown not only as a writer; [Nadia's] unique teaching methods have assisted in a greater depth of self-discovery."
I'm very moved by these students' words.
I went to graduate school to get a Ph.D. in Literature so I could teach and share the joy, wonder, and mystery of poetry with others. Much as I loved many of my classes, poetry became something to be analyzed and dissected. I started to write my own poetry more seriously, but in creative writing workshops, too, though I had many wonderful teachers, poems were still seen as specimens to be dissected, and after being workshopped, the poems sounded more and more alike.
So I teach poetry in a different way. I want to keep the magic, the wonder of poetry alive. I want to dive into the craft but also attend to the spirit. I want to honor the music and connect not from the head alone but from the whole body. I want to give students tools to write their very best poems on the page by bringing their full attention and self to the process. In fact, the deeper and more freeing the process, the richer the poems themselves will be.
Join me for my Free Poetry Masterclass, where we'll look together at the often overlooked powers of poetry. I hope you'll join us.
If you know someone who loves poetry or is just curious about what poetry is all about, I hope you’ll share this with them and invite them to join us.
with love,
Nadia
PS: Want to go even deeper into the world of poetry? I'm so looking forward to being together in person with a small group of writers in my Finding Joy through Poetry Retreat. September 29th-October 4th. There's still time to sign up! This will be an Immersive 5-Day Writing Retreat at the beautiful Omega Campus in Rhinebeck, New York. Be inspired by poetry, write (in any genre), meditate, move, listen deeply, connect with nature, and join a small, intimate community of writers. Come away with a new body of work, and a deeper creative vision. This promises to be a space of transformation and magic that will last far beyond our week together. Learn more and register here (Space is limited, so sign up now).
PPS: Don't forget: sign up for the Free Poetry Masterclass here. 🙂