Have you been writing poems?
Are you wondering what to do with them now? Would you like to learn the art of editing and see how beautiful they could be?
Join me for this course on how to refine and revise your poetry
Not only will you learn techniques for creating polished poems, you’ll learn a philosophy you can return to: identifying the heart of a poem and how to reveal more of its beauty and truth.
“Mary your tips are magic, what great guidance, and so generous.”
Refine: a course on editing poems
NZ$144
(Pay in full, or two monthly payments of $72)
This course is for you if—
You have been writing poetry
You have poems you’d like to revise (ideally 12-15)
You want to move your poems from early draft toward finished
You are looking for techniques to help you with editing
Note: If you have already done Nature Poetry with me then you’re ready for this. This is also suitable for anyone else who has been writing poetry and has a stack of poems to work with. Ideally you’ll have 12-15 poems you want to revise. If you don't yet have this number of poems, you might like to join me for the next round of Nature Poetry.
How the course works—
Held over three weeks
Two live video calls (one at the start, one at the end)
Self-paced content to work through in an online space
A private online community
Key dates—
Opening call: Sunday 15 March 9am NZDT
Closing call: Sunday 5 April 9am NZDT
(Note: in some timezones these calls will be early morning or late evening. Please check a timezone converter. Calls are recorded and available to watch later that day.)
What you’ll experience —
In our first live call we’ll discuss the art of refining our poems, and I’ll give you an overview of the techniques and activities you’ll use to revise and edit.
During three weeks in our online space you’ll experiment with those tools, moving your poems forward in the editing process. (Editing requires being able to see our poems afresh, which is why we need three weeks, at least.)
You’ll learn a range of editing techniques. I’ll also guide you to find the thread that connects the poems you write, and show you how understanding your poems as a whole can help you refine each poem
In our final live call we’ll reflect on the process, and you’ll identify the approaches that worked for you, to take forward in your writing.
Refine is not just a technical course. I will introduce you to my philosophy on refining our poems as well as lots of practical ways to edit them. One key aspect is learning to look at your poetry as a whole, understanding what is emerging through you, and letting that inform how you refine and enhance individual poems.
Learning to edit and revise your poems will also affect the nature of the first drafts you write. It creates a beautiful upward spiral in our ability capture things in poetry.
“In truth, revision is an almost endless task. But it is endlessly fascinating, too, and especially in the early years it is a process in which much is learned.”