Class

Not a Love Poem, but Something Close

How might we go about broadening the scope of the love poem to include the “not love” poem? What odes might we write to friends, pets, neighbors and gardens? What poems might include our lovers without being about romantic love? And what about all the negative feelings that come with misdirected desire (ours or someone else's)?

From friendship poems to bad pick up-line poems, we’ll borrow inspiration from Megan Pinto, E. Hughes, Sam Herschel Wein and Reginald Dwane Betts, to explore what relationships, transactions, and social exchanges might lie adjacent to romantic love. We’ll examine the speech acts we associate with love and how they might manifest for (and from) different sources.

Students will leave the first session with 3-4 new poem drafts. For the second session, students are invited to submit poems for a group workshop. Participants will each receive written and verbal feedback along with personalized reading recommendations from the instructor.

Instructions for Accessing This Online Class

In order to access live class meetings, you must have the Zoom application downloaded to your computer. You will also need a WiFi/Internet connection throughout the duration of your scheduled meeting and a computer with audio and video capability. The information to join your Zoom classroom will be provided in your confirmation email upon registration. Please check spam folders if you do not see this email upon registration. For more information on how to use Zoom, please see our training manual here.

Some classes use a supplemental Google Classroom page. Should your teaching artist use Google Classroom, you will be invited to join the classroom via email at least 24 hours in advance of your class (check spam folders if you are not seeing this invitation). Please note that Google Classroom requires a Gmail address to access the Classroom. If you do not have a Gmail account, the email invitation will be sent to the email address we have on file and will prompt you to create a free account or enter an existing account to join the classroom. If we are unable to send an email invitation to your non-gmail account, you will be contacted by a staff member to provide a Gmail address. If you do not have a Gmail account, you can create a free account here. Should you have concerns about this, please contact a Loft staff member at [email protected] or 612-379-8999. For more information on how to use Google Classroom, please see our training manual here.