Living Room Craft Talks
The 7th Series
With Ellen Bass
and Guest Poets Li-Young Lee, Joy Harjo, Edgar Kunz, Edward Hirsch, Maya Popa, and Pádraig Ó Tuama
6 Fridays, September 18, 25, October 2, 9, 23, and 30, 2026
at 12 – 2:15 pm ET | 11 am – 1:15 pm CT | 10 am – 12:15 pm MT | 9 am – 11:15 am PT
Live on Zoom
Recorded for Viewing through January 15, 2027
You do not need to have taken the previous Living Room Craft Talks to take this series.
If you want to learn more about the strategies you can employ to write poems that are vivid, engaging, meaningful and complex, I’d be delighted to have you join me in the Living Room Craft Talks: The 7th Series. If you haven’t attended the previous talks, that’s fine. Each series is independent.
I’ll be presenting practical teachings that you’ll be able to put to use at whatever stage of development you’re at—whether you’re just beginning, somewhere in the great middle, or are an accomplished and published poet.
The topics for this series are: the Short Lyric; Ars Poetica; Voice; Beginnings; the Prose Poem; and Eros.
As we study each week’s subject, we’ll also examine other essential aspects of the craft, including image, syntax, form, diction, music and tone.
These talks are focused on poetry, but prose writers are welcome. The precise attention to structure and language will enrich your work as well.
About the Topics and Schedule
Each session will run at 12 – 2:15 pm ET | 11 am – 1:15 pm CT | 10 am – 12:15 pm MT | 9 am – 11:15 am PT
They will last roughly 2 hours and 15 minutes, though sessions may go over this.
Week One: September 18, 2026
Shards of Song: The Short Lyric
Guest Poet: Li-Young Lee
I think the paradigm for a poem is DNA—
this is, as much information as possible
written into as little space as possible.
—Li-Young Lee
Poems were originally sung accompanied by a lyre and the ancient word for poem means “song.” Often sonically driven, lyric poems lead to an epiphany, a lyric moment, and they mostly accomplish this in a tight package. They may consist of an assemblage of images and reflections that don’t rely on narration or may include just a shard of a larger story. Together, we’ll look at poets who show how praise, lamentation, wisdom, and humor can be expressed vividly and succinctly. As Jane Hirshfield says, “Lyric poems transform us in relationship to our own lives and the world.” You’ll be invited into this rich tradition and gain an understanding of how you can lift your voice from story to song.
Week Two: September 25, 2026
A Cup of Words: The Ars Poetica
Guest Poet: Joy Harjo
You are not alone,
the poem said,
in the dark tunnel.
—Louise Glück
Since antiquity, from Horace to Thomas Lux, from Mary Ruefle to Aracelis Girmay, poets have written poems about poetry. Edward Hirsh explains, “…the ars poetica is a poem that takes the art of poetry as its explicit subject. It proposes an aesthetic.” When poets use this meta-form, they reveal what poetry is and does and how it’s made––sometimes overtly, sometimes subtly. They take us into the very nature of poetry. As Naomi Shihab Nye says, “A poem is a cup of words open to the sky and wind in a bucket.” We’ll discuss exemplary poems, and I’ll offer specific strategies that you can use to define and illuminate the experience of poetry as you embark on your own ars poetica.
Week Three: October 2, 2026
A Perceptual Signature: Voice in Poetry
Guest Poet: Edgar Kunz
. . . poetry does what it does, inscribing individual presence,
making a system of words and sounds to mark the place
where one human being stood . . .
—Mark Doty
A strong voice is distinct. Many poets have a voice that is recognizable. Think Walt Whitman, Billy Collins or Lucille Clifton. Think Patricia Smith or Emily Dickinson. Tony Hoagland says, “…voice embodies, not any set of particular facts, but the presence of a self, a personality or a sensibility.” We’ll explore how poets use syntax, diction, rhythm, image, and detail, all the elements of the craft, to yield a voice that’s personal and unique––what Mark Doty calls our “perceptual signature.” By delving into an exciting array of poems, we’ll get the concept of “voice” out of the rarefied air of abstraction and discover practical ways we can create our own singular voice that calls to and engages readers.
Week Four: October 9, 2026
You Are Here:
Beginnings
Guest Poet: Edward Hirsch
Beginnings are brutal.
—Dorianne Laux
Whether the poem starts quietly or with a big fanfare, whether it’s lyrical or tells a story, regardless of the subject or the mood, the beginning of a poem has essential work to do. As Billy Collins says, “There is no pre-existing reason for you to be interested in me . . . so there must be a lure at the beginning of a poem.” From confession to question, from action to image, from shout to whisper, there are a multitude of ways poets have created that entrance, and we’ll be studying how they do it, so we can learn to write opening lines that compel the reader to come on this journey with us.
Week Five: October 23, 2026
Deceptively Simple Packaging:
The Prose Poem
Guest Poet: Maya Popa
Prose poetry is a monster-child of two incompatible impulses..
—Charles Simic
This hybrid form uses all the aspects of poetry except the line break. The paragraph on the page is a container James Tate calls, “deceptively simple packaging,” and he goes on to say, “People generally do not run for cover when they are confronted with a paragraph or two.” This unassuming nature is one of the prose poem’s greatest charms. We’ll talk about how poets use this modest shape to create poems that hold striking imagery, dynamic narrative, nuanced contemplation, and sometimes a wild imagination. These “monster-children” will show you how to write strong poems disguised in the clothes of prose.
Week Six: October 30, 2026
You burn me:
Poetry of Eros
Guest Poet: Pádraig Ó Tuama
I want to do with you what spring
does with the cherry trees.
—Pablo Neruda
Poetry and Eros have been sisters since the beginning of lyric poetry. As Octavio Paz writes, “poetry eroticizes language and the world.” We’ll explore Eros as a source of power, of passion, of deep connection to the living world and to the creative force. Starting with Sappho and her fragment, “You burn me,” we’ll read a feast of poems that express sexual desire and devoted love, as well as a passion for everything we find richly fulfilling and which enlarges our capacity for joy. We’ll consider the approaches these poets have taken to convey the experience of Eros and which you can practice as you write your own poems in praise of what you love.
Please Note: There is NOT a class on October 16th.
From Past Students
Wow, what a wealth of information, poems, ideas and more. Although I am not able to attend during the live sessions, I relish the video presentations . . . . The ease of accessing the talks and the e-mails are helpful and very appreciated. The poets involved are phenomenal (Ellen included). So grateful for all the time and thoughtfulness put into this!
Some people complain about zoom sessions, but it all depends on who does them. Ellen Bass has got this down!
This is my first Living Room Craft Talk and it far exceeded my expectations. Ellen was so thorough in her preparation, selection of poems and discussion of poems. She is so knowledgeable and generous with her talent and experience. I now have a wealth of material to work with and learn from and look forward to immersing myself further in each topic. I also deeply appreciate the way Ellen continues to skillfully nurture an inclusive community of poets, both emerging and well-established. What a gift!
Outstanding, graduate-level exploration, instruction, and advice from Ellen, one of our country’s greatest poets and teachers and from an array of great guest writers.
This was a terrific, fun and expansive experience. I deeply admire Ellen’s erudition, enthusiasm, warmth, range and depth. It is so very evident how much thought and hard work went into this.
Ellen’s living room craft talks have been a life-changing gift for someone like me, with a regular writing practice and Ph.D but no MFA in hand. . . . The richer work I have produced between [series] has not only made its way into some excellent lit journals but has built toward a manuscript that has given me access to three different small presses for publication. Huzzah!
This was my first Living Room Craft Talk series, and I found it wonderful. It’s a tremendous pleasure to hear Ellen and her guests talk about what poems do and how they do it. I appreciate the tone Ellen sets in the discussions: clear, down to earth, practical. She helps me feel that all of us–she, the poets we discuss, the guest poets, the people in the group–are all engaged in the same work as readers and writers.
The first [Living Room Craft Talk] I have attended and I found it fantastic. So rich and interesting, and of so much practical use for my writing. I would love to be able to spend every day of the week listening to talks like these! I very much admire how the course is so densely prepared and absolutely packed with content, and yet delivered in a conversational and non-academic style. I can imagine how much work that takes.
How Does The 7th Series Work?
The Living Room Craft Talks: The 7th Series run first online via Zoom webinars. The handouts will be sent out by email and are also available to download from the participant-only portion of Ellen’s website. The participant-only portion of Ellen’s site is also where the recordings of the craft talks will be posted after the Zoom sessions have run.
Please note: this is a craft talk series and webinar, not a workshop. Ellen will NOT be reviewing or commenting on student work.
Email and Ellen’s Email List:
The email address that you enter in for your billing information will be the email address where your confirmation email is sent. For gifting the series, see Registration below.
While signing up for this talk series you will be asked to be added to Ellen’s email list (this is how all of the talk series information is sent). YOU MUST DO THIS IF YOU WISH TO RECEIVE BOTH THE EMAILED INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO ACCESS THE SERIES AND ALL OF THE EMAILS SENT DURING THE SERIES. As a part of Ellen’s email list, you will also receive her bi-monthly newsletter and other periodic announcements.
You are able to cancel your subscription to Ellen’s email list at any time, but please keep in mind that if you cancel your subscription before all of the talk series’ emails are sent, you will miss out on important information related to the craft talks.
Before You Register:
Emails about this series are sent automatically from jen@ellenbass.com. To make sure that you receive those emails, please add jen@ellenbass.com to your contact list before you register. Not sure how? Click the button below.
The Guest Poets
Scroll over the images to read their bios.
Li-Young Lee
Li-Young Lee is the author of six books of poetry, including his newest collection, The Invention of the Darling. His earlier collections include The Undressing, Behind My Eyes; Book of My Nights; Rose, winner of the Delmore Schwartz Memorial Award; and The City in Which I Love You, the 1990 Lamont Poetry Selection. Lee’s honors include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Lannan Foundation, and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, as well as grants from the Illinois Arts Council, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.
Joy Harjo
Joy Harjo, the 23rd U.S. Poet Laureate and member of the Muscogee Nation, is the author of numerous books of poetry, several plays, children’s books, two memoirs, and seven music albums. Her honors include Yale’s 2023 Bollingen Prize for American Poetry, National Book Critics Circle Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award, the Ruth Lily Prize from the Poetry Foundation, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Tulsa Artist Fellowship. She is a former chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and Chair of the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation, and is currently the inaugural Artist-in-Residence for the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she lives.
Edgar Kunz
Edgar Kunz is the author of two books: Fixer and Tap Out. He has been an NEA Fellow, a MacDowell Fellow, a Casa Ecco Fellow, and a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. Recent poems appear in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Poetry, Oxford American, and American Poetry Review. He splits his time between Baltimore and Richmond, where he teaches in the MFA program at VCU.
Edward Hirsch
Edward Hirsch, a Chicago native and MacArthur Fellow, has published ten books of poetry, including The Living Fire: New and Selected Poems, Gabriel: A Poem, a book-length elegy for his son, and Stranger by Night. He has also published eight books of prose, among them How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry, a national bestseller, 100 Poems to Break Your Heart, and The Heart of American Poetry. He has received numerous prizes, including the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Pablo Neruda Presidential Medal of Honor, and the National Jewish Book Award. Since 2003, he has been president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. He lives in Brooklyn.
Maya C. Popa
Maya C. Popa is the author of three poetry collections: If You Love That Lady, Wound Is the Origin of Wonder, named one of The Guardian’s best books of poetry, and American Faith, winner of the North American Book Prize. Her poems and essays appear in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Nation, Poetry, The Paris Review, and The Times Literary Supplement, among other publications. She is the Poetry Editor of Publishers Weekly and the founder of Conscious Writers Collective, a global online writing community for poets and prose writers. Her eponymous newsletter has been one of Substack’s top literature publications since 2023 and reaches over 22,000 subscribers.
Pádraig Ó Tuama
Pádraig Ó Tuama is a poet with interests in conflict, language and religion. He presents Poetry Unbound from On Being Studios, and has published two anthologies (2022, 2025, both with WW Norton) from that podcast. In early 2025 Copper Canyon Press published Kitchen Hymns, his fourth poetry collection. A freelance artist, one of Ó Tuama’s projects is poet in residence with the Cooperation and Conflict Resolution Center at Columbia University. He serves as faculty at Yale Divinity School as a Professor in the practice of Spirituality. He splits his time between Belfast and New York City.
Pricing
Cost: US $300
Please note: this is the cost for The 7th Series only. Each series is priced individually.
Want to give The 7th Series as a gift? Buy a gift card here.
Scholarships:
Full and partial scholarships available for individuals with financial need. Please email Jen at jen@ellenbass.com and tell her in a paragraph what your circumstances are and what, if anything, you could pay. Also, please let her know which series you are applying for. If applying for a scholarship, please do NOT register for the series in advance.
Registration
Click the link below to start your registration.
Questions and Concerns:
Email Jen at jen@ellenbass.com.
Cancellations and Refunds:
$50 of the payment is nonrefundable. Refunds are offered through September 1, 2026. No refunds are offered as of September 2, 2026. By signing up for this series, you agree to these terms.
More From Past Students
I’m constantly amazed by the passion, time, and resources that Ellen puts into the Series. The handout of poems is sensational, each week a mini-anthology. The guests are brilliant, particularly when Ellen and the guest connect emotionally as well as poetically. Ellen’s wisdom is remarkable– I have to say that it’s her personality and character that makes the series so essential.
What a wonderful series! Ellen puts so much time and care into researching the topics as well as creating this balance between complexity and simplicity. The thoughts about poetry are deep but the suggestions for writing are succinct, accessible and useful. The poets selected were delightful. It is one thing to read a poem on a page, but to hear the poet themselves interpret their poetry is a special privilege and an entirely different experience.
I am in awe of this series and experience! I am a working parent and this is my first foray into taking any sort of writing class since my grad school experience over 15 years ago. It was my first Living Room Craft Talk and I wasn’t sure what to expect: I was absolutely FLOORED at the care, generosity of spirit, the sheer number of resources given, all of it.
[The 6th Series] was an extraordinary experience. The depth of Ellen’s preparation and insights, the wonderful guest poets she had on, and Ellen’s enthusiastic and inclusive manner made each session memorable.
The amount of effort, thought, knowledge, and talent Ellen brings to these series, plus her generosity and graciousness, are truly remarkable and set the bar extremely high for poetry webinars. The guests are also unfailingly stellar. Each session feels like such a valuable gift, and one that’s offered at an affordable price. I’m very grateful to have been a recipient of these series.
Excellent, well-planned, well presented. The best teaching I have found online.
[The Living Room Craft Talks] are fantastic. I can’t say enough good things about them. Wouldn’t change a thing.
Though I have been writing, reading, and studying poetry both formally (in academic programs and classes) and informally, I have never learned so much as in the Living Room Craft Talks. . . . These series are such a gift to the world of poetry and a boon to us in these difficult times.
