Living Room Craft Talks
The Sixth Series
With Ellen Bass
and Guest Poets Billy Collins, Nikky Finney, Carolyn Forché, Maria Popova, Patricia Smith, & Arthur Sze
Live Online via Zoom
On March 1, 8, 15, 22, April 5, 12 & April 19, 2024
at 12 – 2:15 pm ET | 11 am – 1:15 pm CT | 10 am – 12:15 pm MT | 9 am – 11:15 am PT
`And Recorded for Viewing through May 31, 2024
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 Sixth 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: Endings; Science and Poetry; The Things of This World; Persona Poems; Location, Location, Location; and Juxtaposition.
We’ll be reading exemplary poems from a large and diverse group of poets. And there will be guest appearances from: Billy Collins, Nikky Finney, Carolyn Forché, Maria Popova, Patricia Smith, and Arthur Sze!
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.
More About the Schedule and Topics
Week One: March 1, 2024 – Mutual Awe: Poetry And Science
Guest Poet: Maria Popova
Poetry and science are allies, not opposites.
Both are instruments of discovery,
and together they make the two feet of one walking.
—Jane Hirshfield
Poetry and science share a way of exploring the world with curiosity and rigor. They have so many things in common: they invite us to engage our sense of wonder; they work toward a universal insight through the particular; and they both embrace uncertainty. At their core is the great I don’t know. From mosquitoes to black holes, from mitochondria to a fetal bat, we’ll read poems that focus the microscope—and the telescope—on the many subjects of science. An especially wonderful aspect of this writing is immersing yourself in research—in the world of facts and discovery––all the while your subconscious is at work to make what Maria Popova calls “stories of science winged with poetry.”
Week Two: March 8, 2024 – Juxtaposition in Poetry
Guest Poet: Arthur Sze
I want to get readers to… “read with one’s nerves,”
… where they aren’t just reading intellectually,
but they’re reading viscerally.
—Arthur Sze
Like an artist assembling a collage or a film editor splicing a montage, poets build tension, friction, surprise, and meaning through juxtaposition. By putting things side-by-side without explanation, we invite the reader into the poem to consider the relationship. As Susan Griffin says, “The meaning is allowed to become more nuanced and even open-ended.” These unexpected pairings can be of images, ideas, and events, as well as of syntax and voice. You’ll learn a variety of approaches to make evocative associations. Juxtaposition reflects the complexity of our lives.
Week Three: March 15, 2024 – Doors and Windows: How a Poem Ends
The ending must be surprising, yet inevitable.
—Aristotle
When we write a poem we want to discover something we didn’t know before we began. That encounter is at the heart of poetry. And we often find it at the end of a poem. Some poems swerve into their endings; others land on an image or make a strong assertion. Some build to their conclusions gradually and others leap. There are endings that feel like closure and others that are less settled. Stanley Kunitz said, “I like an ending that’s both a door and a window.” You’ll learn a wide variety of ways your poems can open into endings that illuminate and transform what we know. As Marvin Bell said, “The poem ends, but the poetry continues.”
NOTE: Due to an unexpected scheduling error Billy Collins, who was originally to appear this day with Ellen, will be appearing on April 5.
Week Four: March 22, 2024 – Location, Location, Location: Poems of Place
Guest Poet: Nikky Finney
If you ain’t no place, you can’t go nowhere.
—Richard Hugo
From a trailer in Bakersfield to a seafood market in South Carolina, from a Broadway street fair to New Mexico’s high desert, from one’s homeland to a home in exile, we’ll read poems set on the coordinates of time and space. The location of a poem offers us vivid details and images as well as influencing the action that happens there. And descriptions of place can carry a lot of the emotional work of a poem. As Naomi Shihab Nye says, “place is the gravity of poetry.” We’ll study how poets use place to give life to a poem and I’ll offer practices to explore your own landscapes.
One Week Break
Extra Session on Endings: April 5, 2024 – Guest Poet: Billy Collins
Due to an unavoidable and unexpected scheduling conflict, Billy Collins, who had originally been scheduled to appear March 15, will be joining Ellen during this extra session to discuss endings. This session will start at the regular time and last roughly 20 – 30 minutes.
Week Five: April 12, 2024 – When We Speak in Another Voice: Persona Poems
Guest Poet: Patricia Smith
If you’re going to write a persona poem it better be about you.
—Stanley Plumly
Writing a persona poem allows us to inhabit anyone. We can delve into what is sometimes called the umwelt, the world as it is experienced by another being. Or we can imagine the thoughts and feelings of an inanimate object. This intimate form makes it possible to talk about the self in ways we might not risk in our own voice. And the persona poem can also provide a means to give voice to those who haven’t been heard. We’ll hear poems that embody a wild array of voices from Demeter to a drag queen, from Hurricane Katrina to a mummy to a roly-poly bug to salt! All of which will inspire our own poems and enlarge how we think about ourselves and the world.
Week Six: April 19, 2024 – The Things of This World
Guest Poet: Carolyn Forché
No ideas but in things.
—William Carlos Williams
Examining something closely, even an ordinary, everyday thing, has been a steadfast practice of poets. We’ll look at poems that turn their attention to the abundance of the physical world. They may move from specific objects into feelings and thoughts, but at their center is what Tony Hoagland calls thingitude—the fascinating stuff of the actual world. We’ll study poems that describe and respond to a wide range of objects––a pebble, a mother’s colander, a refrigerator from 1957, car keys, the last cigarette–and more! I’ll present strategies you can use to write poems that begin with a thing and open to reveal unexpected depths. As Dorianne Laux says, “There is so much to be mined from even the simplest objects if you’re willing to live with them awhile and listen to what they have to say.”
From Past Students
It was wonderful! Truly a gem of an experience, something to look forward to each week with the very BEST teachings of Ellen Bass and her amazing guest poets. Where else could we see and hear two living poets conversing about all manner of craft? A stunning series, as have all five have been. And Jen’s facilitation has been masterful. Professionally presented from the poetic craft to the technical execution. I left each week stunned and inspired by what I’d heard and watched. It’s like an MFA in poetry!
Ellen is an ambassador for poetry. Ellen brings infectious joy and enthusiasm to her explorations of craft. Her obvious delight is an invitation to us. The poetry handouts she provides each week are powerful and wide-ranging examples that enrich our awareness and understanding of each week’s theme. The quotes and exercises from poets and critics she shares with us widen our perspectives and curiosity. They (and Ellen!) encourage and challenge us to experiment with and deepen our own craft.
I feel as if I’ve gained a whole MFA’s worth of information, inspiration, appreciation, and understanding. Thank you thank you thank you. This was my first venture with your craft talk series, and I can’t wait to start on the first four, and whatever might come next. . . . These six weeks have helped to nudge the writer’s block I’ve had since finishing my last book, for which I am also grateful.
Spectacular. Well-presented and well-researched. I am stunned and awed by the skill, care and attention to detail that is put into all of these courses. I will look forward to re-listening.
I love that each course is geared to both the experienced and novice writer. Non-pretentious and so generous in its content. I do not have enough words to express how fantastic these series’ are. Thank you so very much.
An outstanding series from a master teacher, with excellent talks and insights from invited guests.
I was knocked out by Ellen’s generosity as a teacher, her thoughtful tips that arose in every week’s new subject, how she linked them to each other, back to other craft talks. It was all extremely considered and interesting to follow. You don’t always get a great poet who is also a great teacher, but with Ellen you very much get both. And her guests were phenomenal.
WOWZA YOWZA!!!!!!!!
This is an incredibly well organized, thorough and thought provoking course. Ellen is a glorious guide and has created valuable content that I can review, study, enjoy and be inspired by for the next year. I know my writing (as well as the writing of my non fiction students) will grow exponentially as a result. Big thanks and deep bows.
This is by far the best poetry class I have ever taken! Thank you so much for all the poetic wealth of materials and Ellen’s fantastic preparedness. Thank you also for the top notch poets interviewed. I am completely gaga for the next round and hope it won’t be too long.
Logistics for the Series
Cost: US $300
Full and partial scholarships available. If the price is a hardship, please email Jen at jen@ellenbass.com and tell her briefly what your circumstances are and what, if anything, you could pay.
Dates and Times for the Zoom Sessions:
March 1, 8, 15, 22, April 5, 12 & April 19, 2024 –Please note that there is a 1 week break between sessions 4 and the extra session.
at 12 – 2:15 pm ET | 11 am – 1:15 pm CT | 10 am – 12:15 pm MT | 9 am – 11:15 am PT
Each session will last roughly 2 hours and 15 minutes, though some sessions may go over this.
EXCEPT, for the extra session on April 5th, which will start at 12 pm ET | 11 am CT | 10 am MT | 9 am PT and last 20 – 30 minutes.
Recorded:
The Zoom sessions are recorded and available to watch through May 31, 2024.
Technical Format for the Series:
The Living Room Craft Talks: The Sixth Series is made possible by three systems: Zoom, Ellen’s website, and email. The live craft talks will be held 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 Zoom sessions will be posted.
Zoom webinar: Since the craft talks are a Zoom webinar, only Ellen, Jen (her technical administrator), and the guest poets will be visible on the screen.
Your Registration Email:
The email address that you enter into the billing information on the following registration pages will be the email address that is sent your confirmation email. If you wish the series materials to be sent to a different email address than the one you use for billing, please email Jen at jen@ellenbass.com and provide her with the alternative email address.
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 THE EMAILED INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO ACCESS THE SERIES AND ALL OF THE EMAILS THAT WILL BE 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 emails related to the craft talks.
Emails About This Series and Your Registration:
Once your registration payment has been processed, you will be sent an automated email from jen@ellenbass.com confirming your spot in the series and giving you important information to access the series materials. If that email does not reach you within 1 hour, please check your spam, junk, promotions, or trash folders as the email could have been misdirected.
All emails about this series are sent automatically from jen@ellenbass.com. To make sure that you receive those emails, which include a confirmation with details on how to access the series materials, please add jen@ellenbass.com to your contact list before you register. Not sure how? Click the button below.
Registration
The full cost of $300 for the series is due upon registration.
Full and partial scholarships available. If the price is a hardship, please email Jen at jen@ellenbass.com and tell her briefly what your circumstances are and what, if anything, you could pay.
Want to give The 6th Series as a gift to someone? Click here to purchase a gift subscription (do not use the registration button below).
Questions and Concerns:
If you have any questions or concerns, please email Jen at jen@ellenbass.com.
Cancellations and Refunds:
$50 of the payment is nonrefundable. Refunds are offered through February 23, 2024. No refunds are offered as of February 24th.
More From Past Students
This is an unparalleled course. The depth of topic, the incredible handouts coupled with the professional poets joining the zoom sessions are very powerful and empowering. [The 5th Series] is my second course with Ellen and both were great teaching and extravagant content.
Skillful, exquisitely prepared and generously presented. Jen’s prep and ongoing support was extraordinary.
So much kind, thoughtful information. Such care and insight. As a teacher for 40 years, I can see how carefully each talk was constructed. Ellen’s willingness to be open to each of our questions and comments, her heartfelt connection with the guest poets and reverence for their work, set a high bar for all of us in the way we respond to and honor each other. The poems chosen, the way Ellen explained and commented on them was beyond wonderful.
Stunningly beautiful, intelligent, transcendent, nurturing, nourishing, life-affirming, collaborative, transformative.
I was fascinated and truly rapt during the talks, looked forward to them all week. I have now met so many more wonderful poets to read and I have more ways to understand what I’m reading, and it’s making me more adventurous in my own writing.
The breadth, depth, and wealth of materials provided was astonishing. The conversations between Ellen Bass, our host, and her visitors were a highlight. Such warmth and generosity within those explorations.
Brilliant. Deepening, widening my experience and understand of poetry and poetics. HUGELY generous!
I love ALL of the Living Room Craft talks. Ellen does so much research for each talk, and Jen makes it all flawless. There is intimacy when the guests join Ellen. It doesn’t matter how many of us are watching, it feels up close and personal. And there’s so much pleasure in listening to two poets discuss craft. I will always be grateful for the generosity that you show your students.
Absolutely blown away. Had heard from a friend/fellow poetry lover who had participated in previous series, that Ellen is a master teacher . . . . So I decided to ‘see what this is all about.’ The series vastly exceeded all of my expectations!!! I feel empowered and inspired.