Phones, Poems, and the City: Crafting Urban Verse - Writing a City Poem

In this masterclass, we’ll being by looking at three examples of poems located in New York City – ‘The Day Lady Died’ by Frank O’Hara, ‘Letter to N.Y.’ by Elizabeth Bishop, and ‘Theme for English B’ by Langston Hughes. We’ll discuss how to go about writing such a poem, keeping it contemporary and yet at the same time using rhythm, rhyme, if required, and ironic urban tones of voice, and we’ll look at how to write such a poem using a phone camera and notes. In the final part, I will describe how a creative writing workshop is conducted and what to expect will happen when a poem is read and discussed by the seminar group. We’ll think about the basic rules of workshopping: that the writer must not speak while others discuss the work, so that the experience of the work is not interfered with by authorial comment; that everyone makes constructively critical remarks (because bland praise is unhelpful); and I’ll explain why those who are not presenting work need to offer constructive criticism: because the poet has taken a spiritual risk by presenting this new work, and the others in the group must reciprocate with some spiritual risk of their own, namely the constructive criticism; if the poet is listening, taking notes, thinking about what the others are saying, and responding constructively to constructive criticism, then a virtuous circle can be achieved and all benefit from the experience.

 

Curious about the world around you?

Our Super-Curricular Webinar Series explores a range of fascinating topics, giving you the chance to hear from University academics. Discover new perspectives, explore current issues, and gain insight into how these topics are studied and applied in higher education and beyond.

All webinars will be recorded. If you sign up you will be able to access the recording after the event.

Enquire about this event