How to Think Like a Poet
What do poets think about?
Poet Dai George will delve into how to think like a poet, and the impact that this can have on your writing and editing processes.
He'll share insight into his own creative process, and offer advice on how you can tap into your creativity, and access your creative thinking. Dai will discuss the 'rules' of poetry, how much they have evolved and how contemporary poets can approach, and bend, them. He will address the questions poets have grappled with for centuries: How can we truly describe the world? How can we express love, grief or friendship? How can poetry help us to understand justice, dreams or anger? And he'll offer his top tips for navigating these massive questions as a poet writing today.
This masterclass will take place online via Teams. It will also be recorded so if you are unable to attend live, you'll be able to catch-up and access the recording for up to two weeks after the event has taken place. The session will end with a brief Q&A, so come ready with your questions!
Ahead of the class there are a few things Dai would like you to prepare:
1. Read both the extracts from Dai’s book which are on the W&A website:
https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/advice/poetry-art-thinking
https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/advice/how-think-contemporary-poet
2. Read Wallace Stevens's 'Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird'
3. Prepare a couple of thoughts (no need to do any writing, unless notes are helpful) on two open questions:
(a) What is your experience of poetry before today? (Have you written any yourself? Do you read it for pleasure? Are you a fan of the artform? Does anything annoy you about it? Are you aware of what's going on in contemporary poetry?)
(b) Think about something you have mixed feelings about. Why? What are those mixed feelings? (It could be a person, a place, a subject, a political or cultural issue, a fruit - whatever!)
Joining Link:
You can download Teams free on your computer, or join via the web: https://www.microsoft.com/en-ww/microsoft-teams/download-app
