THE LONG POEM
Welcome to our workshop:
HOW TO WRITE A LONG POEM
Wednesdays 6:15pm-8:45pm January 15th, 22nd, 29th (beginning with the starter package arriving Jan 8th)
All of our weekly resources will arrive on this page:
it might be helpful to bookmark it for this month.
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Click this image if you need to visit my
Workshops & Classes registration page.
Click this image to visit The Malahat Review's
Long Poem contest page.
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/6750678452?pwd=dkJicjJrT3Q3MkxwdFRtUHduaEc0QT09
Meeting ID: 675 067 8452
Passcode: 3fzR0Y
JANUARY 15th PACKAGE
(for discussion on Jan 22nd)
"Just Passing Through" by Conor Kerr (from Old Gods, Nightwood, 2023). This poem won The Malahat Reveiw's Long Poem Prize in 2021.
Please read: "Windstorm" by Joe Denham (the first long poem section from the book-length poem, Windstorm, Nightwood Editions, 2009)
(Insider info: Tim Lilburn wanted to include this book on his Griffin Prize Shortlist, but it was out too late.)
BONUS (for your interest, not necessarily for discussion): I found this scanned library copy from the sixties on UBC's website, so I added it for you to take a look.
There's an excellent bilingual version available to purchase through RUSSELL BOOKS
BONUS: a really good Malahat Review interview with Sharon Thesen, one of Canada's foremost authorities on the Long Poem.
ISSUES 159 & 199 of The Malahat Review should be arriving either in your mailbox, or at Planet Earth Poetry for pick-up this week.
Please read:
"Ceiling of Sticks" by Shane Book (also earned a National Magazine Award)
“Hiatus” by Sonnet L'Abbé"
"Song of the Taxidermist" by Aurian Haller (also won Gold at the National Magazine Awards)
“The Bone Yard” by Harold Rhenisch
JANUARY 22nd PACKAGE
On The Poetry Foundation: "The Garden Body: A Florilegium" by Sylvia Legris (from Garden Physic, New Directions Publishing, 2021)
PDF: "The Voice of Sheila Chandra" by Kazim Ali (from The Voice of Sheila Chandra, Alice James Books, 2020)
Someone scanned and added several chunks of The Collected Works of Billy the Kid by Michael Ondaatje to their wordpress site, so I linked it. :)
There's also an excerpt on Penguin's site HERE
"This revolutionary collage of poetry and prose, layered with photos, illustrations and “clippings,” astounded Canada and the world when it was first published in 1969. It earned then-little-known Ondaatje his first of several Governor General’s Awards and brazenly challenged the world’s notions of history and literature."
PDF: "Matériel" by Don McKay (from Vis à Vis, Gaspereau Press, 2001)
PDF: "No Language is Neutral" by Dionne Brand, Penguin, 1998.
PDF: "Double Helix" by Anne Simpson (from Is, McClelland & Stewart, 2011)
PDF: "Misfortune" by Xi Chuan, Grain issue 37.1
Translated from the Chinese by Wang Pin & Alex Lemon
JANUARY 8th PACKAGE
Please read: "No Buffalos" by Delani Valin, page 29
&"Smog Mother" by John Wall Barger, page 47
(This PDF issue of The Malahat Reveiw is copyrighted and we have 10 paid downloads for this workshop.)
Please read: "Dear Rose" by Ocean Vuong
The book cover is linked to Harper's Magazine.
Please read: "August after August"
by Tonja Gunvaldsen Klaassen
Please read: "Hesperine for David Berger" by Kazim Ali
The book cover is linked to Poets.org.
And below is a conversation with Kazim Ali about the poem.
Please read: "The Dendrite Map: Mother/Father Haibun" by Fred Wah
JANUARY 15th MEETING
1. Brief Group Introductions: 10 mins
2. POEM DISCUSSION: 30 mins
"No Buffalos" by Delani Valin
"Smog Mother" by John Wall Barger
"Hesperine for David Berger" by Kazim Ali
"Dear Rose" by Ocean Vuong
"August after August" by Tonja Gunvaldsen Klaassen
"The Dendrite Map: Mother/Father Haibun" by Fred Wah
3. Group 1 Poems: 50-75 mins
Five poems @10-15 mins each
(if you feel complete, you might choose to end sooner)
4. Group writing time: 30 mins
(There's a floating 5 mins in here for transitions)
A Brief & Incomplete History of the Long Poem
Long poems stretch back a long long way, and were often book-length poems or massive tomes. Gilgamesh, the oldest long poem in the world, was carved into stone tablets in Mesopotamia around 4,000 years ago. Composition of the Indian epics, Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa, began in the 3rd and 5th centuries BCE. Beowulf was composed around 1000 AD (and if you've not read it, HERE is the gorgeous translation by Seamus Heaney). Chaucer ("Troilus and Criseyde") and Dante (The Divine Comedy) were both at work in the 14th century, Milton wrote Paradise Lost in the 1600's, then Lord Byron ("Don Juan") and Shelly ("Queen Mab") completed long works in the 19th century. And that's just a few. It's an ancient human tradition to weave long poetic tales, and so many have never been written down, and some were written down controversially, e.g. Masterworks of the Classical Haida Mythtellers told by Robert Bringhurst.
My favourite book-length poems are by Dionne Brand: Inventory, No Language is Neutral, Thirsty, and of course, Ossuaries (excerpt).
And Joe Denham: Windstorm (excerpt next week in our reading).
And Pablo Neruda: The Heights of Machu Pichu (excerpt).
And Geoffery Hill: Mercian Hymns (excerpt).
HERE IS a link to "The Ballad of Reading Gaol", by Oscar Wilde. This poem began my long poem journey when I was seventeen. You might know that it was written while he was incarcerated for homosexuality, from 1854-1900.
And HERE IS a link to "The Song of Myself" by Walk Whitman (an American classic).
If you're interested, HERE is a fine Canadian long poem anthology, originally published by Coach House, and reprinted by Talon Books in 2001. And Sharon Thesen's book of collected long poems: Refabulations HERE.
Melanie Siebert will be reading from her new book length poem, Signal Infinities, at Planet Earth Poetry on April 25th.
(Please forgive me if I've not mentioned your favourite long poem or your most treasured book length poem.)
Our Reading Schedule
JANUARY 8th: We'll chat about these on the 15th
Downloadable PDF of The Malahat Review:
"No Buffalos" by Delani Valin
"Smog Mother" by John Wall Barger
On Poets.org: "Hesperine for David Berger" by Kazim Ali (from The Voice of Sheila Chandra, Alice James Books, 2020)
In Harper's Magazine online: "Dear Rose" by Ocean Vuong (from Time is a Mother, Penguin, 2022)
PDF (scanned): "August after August" by Tonja Gunvaldsen Klaassen (originally won the CBC Literary Awards in 2005 as "August: An Anniversary Suite", when it was still a long poem prize) (from Lean-To, Gaspereau Press, 2009)
Online Archive PDF: "The Dendrite Map: Mother/Father Haibun" by Fred Wah (from The New Long Poem Anthology, ed. Sharon Thesen, Coach House Press, 1991)
JANUARY 15th: We'll chat about these on the 22nd
In The Malahat Review:
"Ceiling of Sticks" by Shane Book (also earned a National Magazine Award)
“Hiatus” by Sonnet L'Abbé
In The Malahat Review:
"Song of the Taxidermist" by Aurian Haller (also won Gold at the National Magazine Awards)
“The Bone Yard” by Harold Rhenisch
PDF: "Windstorm" by Joe Denham (from Windstorm, Nightwood Editions, 2009)
PDF: "Just Passing Through" by Conor Kerr (from Old Gods, Nightwood, 2023)
Interview with Sharon Thesen.
JANUARY 22nd: We'll not chat about these, but they might help you with your poem
On The Poetry Foundation: "The Garden Body: A Florilegium" by Sylvia Legris (from Garden Physic, New Directions Publishing, 2021)
PDF: "Matériel" by Don McKay (from Vis à Vis, Gaspereau Press, 2001)
PDF: "The Voice of Sheila Chandra" by Kazim Ali (from The Voice of Sheila Chandra, Alice James Books, 2020)
PDF: "Double Helix" by Anne Simpson (from Is, McClelland & Stewart, 2011)
PDF: "Misfortune" by Xi Chuan, Grain issue 37.1. Translated from the Chinese by Wang Pin & Alex Lemon
JANUARY 27th: We'll look only at the poems of our group
What to expect in our workshop:
Jan 8th: preliminary long poem package arrives
A fabulous long poem package arrives in your inbox, and if you've don't have a poem in the works, you need to begin writing ON OR BEFORE THIS DAY.
It's important that you already have 6+ pages for the first class on Jan 15th.
CALENDAR:
Please mark off time this week to WRITE!
Suggested time: 1-2 hours a day Jan 8th-Jan 15th (try to reach at least 6 pages, or six sections that can stretch across six pages)
BONUS CALL:
If you'd like to chat about your ideas or ask questions before the first class, I'm 100% here for you! Please email me and we'll book a complimentary 15-30 min call via phone or in my zoom room: kyerenregehr@gmail.com
POETS WITH POEMS: If you already have a poem going, you might feel inspired to write more after reading the poems in the package. But if you have 6+ pages, it's okay if you just want to read the package.
Jan 15th & 22nd: our first & second online meetings (more poems added to this page & you'll receive an email when they're up)
During these two classes we'll divide the time into:
a) discussions about the poems in the packages
b) poem sharing time (we'll look at half the poems on Jan 15th and half the poems on Jan 22nd, and each poet will receive the same amount of time. If you are not ready to share, or you don't want to, that's 100% okay too.)
c) writing time
WHEN WE DISCUSS THE POEMS IN THE PACKAGES: we'll focus on the structure, style, narrative or non-linear techniques, etc., used in their construction (not the meaning or the minutia of craft). We'll ask ourselves how/if they engage us as readers and how/if they manage to carry us forward through ten+ pages. We're looking at what the poems can teach us about this form, and how they might solve our own long poem problems, or show us how to improve our poems. We'll be on the hunt for ways to expand our own poems, or "write into" gaps we've identified in our poems. We'll also be looking and listening for ways to deepen our own work.
WHEN WE SHARE INDIVIDUAL POEMS: each poet will be invited to share a little about their long poem, talk about challenges they're facing, and pose questions/problems, and then screenshare their poem. I will offer feedback, as well as safely guiding any suggestions, if the poet is open to receiving this. We will always begin with what's working and what we admire.
CALENDAR:
PLEASE SCHEDULE 1+ hours a day for writing/editing your long poem on both the weeks of the 15th and 22nd.
Jan 29th: our final online meeting
We'll spend the 2.5 hours looking at every poem (time will be distributed fairly between all poets). You can read your poem aloud and/or screenshare it, and we'll address any questions or concerns you still have.
AFTER THIS CLASS:
You'll have TWO more days to finesse your poem ready for sending to the contest.
CALENDAR:
1. PLEASE schedule time in your calendar for your own personal editing on Jan 29th & 30th.
Recommended time: 2+ hours a day (you might not need it, but it's better to have it scheduled in).
2. PLEASE add a reminder to submit on either Jan 30th or Feb 1st.