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About The Event
Hello Poetry Lovers,
This is a poetry workshop for you! I’ll send everyone who RSVPs a Meetup message with the Zoom link. If you have any additional questions, feel free to message Keith Gaboury on Meetup.
WORKSHOP GUIDELINES: Participation is required as we, together, create a safe place for feedback with each event. This includes having your poem available to share on Google Docs as well as appearing on video. Body language goes a long way in helping each other find trust in our group. If you need help with using Google Docs there are some great tutorials online. It is pretty darn easy.
Within this safe space we will want to keep in mind the goal of the workshop while reviewing draft poems: encouragement and feedback.
#1 – Reading the poem Start each new poem with participants first reading the poem to themselves. This provides folks a first read to absorb the larger context of the poem. Things like the form, subject, and the literary devices employed including meter, rhyme, and page layout.
#2 – Hearing the poem The author will then read their poem if they choose. If not a member can step in and read it for them (most authors read their own). More detailed items uncover themselves with this read through. Things like voice, tone, and elements that might rely on the out-loud reading of the piece.
#3 – Comments and feedback Although we will also have active discussion, comments should be made on the Google Doc itself. Much like marking up handouts during an in-person event (oh, the good ‘ole days of 2019) these comments persist with the document for the author to access after the fact. As commenters, let’s remember to trust that the author has absorbed the feedback and will use it as they see fit. We want to share comments that help the writer find places of refinement and/or growth within the poem.
#4 – Types of comments Start with something positive. Something that moved you, grabbed your attention, or provided surprise. Feedback shouldn’t exist only to criticize. Its main purpose is to inform the author of how others receive the poem. And we do not to collectively edit it in real time.
When it comes to criticism, be kind. It can be very vulnerable to expose our creativity to feedback. Avoiding phrases like “you need to” and “you should” in exchange for “I noticed” or “your use of” can go a long way in shaping more helpful comments. For example, “You should never use passive voice in first person…” is a general statement disconnected from the poem. Whereas “It wasn’t clear to me in the 3rd stanza if the monkeys escaped with you or only wanted to” alerts the author to a possible ambiguity in the piece.
Some useful feedback sentence starters are:
A question I have…
I’m wondering…
I’m noticing…
What’s strong…
What stays with me…
#5 – A note about Google Docs Using Google Docs is a two-step process. First upload the document and secondly change the Share to “Anyone with the link.” The allows for folks to view and comment directly on the doc itself. This is a persistent state. Meaning it continues to be available in this way. So we recommend that after the session, change the permissions back to “owner” so no one will have access to the poem other than yourself. Going a step further you can download the document with comments to your computer and remove it from Google Docs. If you use Google Docs, it makes sense to simply reset the permissions.
Below is the link to the Google Docs homepage. You can copy and paste your poem onto a blank document: https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/
POEMS ARE THE OWNERSHIP OF THE AUTHORS AND ARE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT LAW. ANY USE OF THE POEM WITHIN THIS WORKSHOP DOES NOT GRANT PERMISSION OF USE OR ANY TRANSFER OF RIGHTS.