Kindly note:
This is an ESL friendly class, CEFR  level — C1, C2 (Advanced)
Please feel free to write me via Outschool email with questions.
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JUMP START POETRY: LEARN TO WRITE--AND APPRECIATE-- ALL FORMS OF POETRY
40 different poems introduced in this class
Poetry writing opportunities with instant written feedback
No Prerequisites 
No books to purchase
Small intimate class size (limited to 6 learners)
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“Poetry uses language to take us to a place beyond language.”-- Thomas C. Foster, from How to Read Poetry Like a Professor

Poets are the seers--the guides-- for every generation. Idea from Ben Larson from The Hatred of Poetry

And yet, poetry, our own form of expression that extends back thousands of years, is among the least taught areas in literature classes. 'This is a shame," according to Andrew Sussman in The Atlantic (April, 8, 2014) "not just because poetry is important to teach, but also because poetry is important for the teaching of writing and reading."   In other words, the understanding and appreciation of poetry will enhance each students' abilities in other areas of writing and literature. Moreover, appreciating poetry and gaining a comfort level with poems of all eras will give learners the opportunity for self-expression through the art of poetry.

In the four deeply-researched 55-minute sessions of Jump Start Poetry we will examine the essential skills to give every learner the confidence to both understand, analyze, and appreciate poetry.  Moreover, the class will also give learners the path and the confidence to begin creating their own poetry in a variety of forms.  Each of us has the gift of poetry inside us,  but as esteemed poet Mary Oliver notes, we need the guidance, the rubric to express ourselves through the medium. This is the class to offer that guidance for all learners, at all levels.

Each class will focus on the “who what when where why” of  understanding poems and poetry:

Class 1: The Why of Poetry—and What Exactly is a Poem?
Class 2: The How of Poetry—What Elements Help Craft a Poem?
Class 3: The What of Poetry—What Kinds of Poetic Expression Are There?
Class 4: The Who of Poetry—Your Own Poetic Expressions and Poetry of the Now and Future

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Poetry Forms Considered in this class include:

Free Verse
Blank Verse
Lyric Poetry
Narrative Poetry
Epic Poetry
Villanelle
Sonnet
Ekphrasis Poetry
Haiku
Acrostic
Found Poetry

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Poetic Devices introduced and explained in this class will include:

Devices of Sound
Line (Metric feet)
Rhythm
Diction, Tone, Voice
Imagery

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Poetry considered throughout the four sessions will include:

Class 1
Poetry by Marianne Moore
Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare
The Epic of Gilgamesh
The Tay Bridge Disaster by William McGonagall Ode to a Grecian Urn by John Keats
Hope is a thing with feathers by Emily Dickinson Because I could not stop for death by Emily Dickinson Birches by Robert Frost
Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll
One Art by Elizabeth Bishop
The More Loving One by W.H. Auden
Class 2
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost Audubon: A Vision by Robert Penn Warren
The Tyger by William Blake
Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe
Salutation by Ezra Pound
Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost
Dreams by Langston Hughes
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost Audubon: A Vision by Robert Penn Warren
The Tyger by William Blake
Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe
Salutation by Ezra Pound
Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost
Dreams by Langston Hughes
Class 4
The Starry Night by Anne Sexton
The Gift Outright by Robert Frost
The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman
Drink To Me With Thine Eyes by Ben Jonson
The Lucy Poems by William Wordsworth
Blowin’ in the Wind by Bob Dylan
Old Man Eating Alone in a Chinese Restaurant by Billy Collins 
The Work of Happiness by May Sarton

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HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS FOR EVERY CLASS:

Poetry writing Exercises and assignments
Extender Reading Poems (additional reading poems that support the ideas of the lesson )

Every homework assignment receives an immediate, nuanced and fully detailed written response from me.

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HOW DID THIS CLASS COME TO BE CREATED?

In a sense every class I’ve written has lead to this one. Every child not only has a voice in my classroom - I am listening carefully to each individual voice.  My goal is—and alway has been—to open students’ minds to possibilities, to give them confidence in their thinking, to allow them to express themselves fully.  This class aims do give students the opportunity to do so in the poetry format.  Poets and their poems have changed the thinking of the world.

Jump Start Poetry: Learn to Write--and Appreciate All Forms of Poetry was created as a companion class to my own  How to Write the Personal Essay--Conquer the College Essay with Style and Power, Spar Lit Sr: Understanding Great Essays Through Speech and Debate and my own The Elegant Essay: Crafting Great Essays Through Power and Punch!  While  How to Write the Personal Essay focuses on essay writing skills, Spar Lit Sr. focuses on oral skills through understanding essays, The Elegant Essay gives a broad view of the power of the essay through analysis.  They all lead to Jump Start Poetry. In other-words, here is the perfect opportunity for students  to learn to write their own poetry for now and for always. 

NO PREREQUISITES FOR THIS CLASS
Please note: Although any of my classes, including How to Write the Personal Essay,  Spar Lit Sr., and The Elegant Essay are excellent preparation for for Jump Start Poetry, there are no prerequisites for this class.

LIMITED TO 6 STUDENTS 
Jump Start Poetry: How to Write--and Appreciate--All Forms of Poetry  is limited to 6 students so all learners have a voice in the classroom.  Learners have both the benefit of a small class and the interaction with like-minded students.

NO BOOK PURCHASES NECESSARY FOR THIS CLASS
All materials will be sent to learners in pdf. over the classroom page.