“Narrative Poems: Getting Out of the Rut” with David Meischen
April 15 2023 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM CDT
$59.00 – $119.00
This Event is for Members only.
Click here to learn more about benefits of membership
$59 for Members
$119 for Non-Members
Can’t make it to the live class? No problem! All classes are recorded and made available to class registrants for one month.
Most writers are trying to tell a story with their work, but stories can easily fall into a narrative rut – moving along predictably, chronologically.
This class is for writers who are currently working on or are interested in exploring and crafting nonlinear narrative poems, especially those looking to practice the art of surprise to find new and compelling ways to engage readers.
Over the course of three hours, participants will experiment with three approaches to writing a nonlinear narrative poem. We’ll begin with three poems that assemble chunks of narrative around a significant personal item—a grandmother’s butter churn, for example. Next, participants will examine what the instructor calls ambient noise—sights and sounds on the periphery of a story that lend both texture and surprise to nonlinear approaches. Finally, participants will examine poems that braid two or more narrative threads—alternating between two storylines that complete each other. The class will include two very short writing sessions, followed by a sharing of insights.
TAKE THIS CLASS IF:
- You’re a poet or poetry-curious writer interested in narrative poems.
- You enjoy the element of surprise when you read a story or poem.
- You’ve grown tired of habitual chronology in the poems you write.
- You have a narrative poem you’re working on and would like to learn ways to engage readers better.
The deadline to register for this class is Friday, April 14 at 5:00 PM CT.
Instructor
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A Pushcart honoree, with a personal essay in Pushcart Prize XLII, David Meischen is the author of Anyone’s Son, winner of the John A. Robertson Award for Best First Book of Poetry from the Texas Institute of Letters (TIL). Nopalito: Stories is forthcoming from the University of New Mexico Press. David has twice received the Kay Cattarulla Award for Best Short Story from TIL, most recently for “Crossing at the Light,” lead story in The Distance Between Here and Elsewhere: Three Stories (Storylandia, Summer 2020). His work has appeared in The Common, Copper Nickel, The Evansville Review, Salamander, Southern Poetry Review, The Southern Review, Valparaiso Fiction Review, and elsewhere. A former juror for the Kimmel Harding Nelson center for the arts, David completed a 2018 writing residency at Jentel Arts. Co-founder and Managing Editor of Dos Gatos Press, he lives in Albuquerque, NM with his husband—also his co-publisher and co-editor—Scott Wiggerman.
Before purchasing, please read all policies as noted below and on our Classes page.
If your browser has difficulty with our website store, or if you prefer to mail in a check, click here for a class registration form. The document provides instructions on where to mail it. If you prefer this option, please email wlt@writersleague.org with a copy of the form as well. We are working out of our office at this time.
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Class & Event Registration Policy
Once a purchase has been made, registrations are not refundable and cannot be transferred to a different class or event. No exceptions will be made. If you purchase a registration and then find you cannot attend the class or event, someone else can attend in your stead. Simply contact us at wlt@writersleague.org and let us know the name and contact information for the person who will be using the registration so that we can update the class or event roster.
Credit Card Transaction Handling Fee Policy
All credit card transactions will incur a 4% handling fee. If you’d prefer to pay by check for membership, a class, or an event, you can use the provided forms on the membership or event pages and mail to: WLT, P.O. Box 14355, Austin, TX, 78704.
HOW WLT CLASSES WORK:
Our classes offer a combination of lecture and practical exercises, determined by the individual instructor, on focused aspects of the craft and business of writing. Your fellow participants will come from a range of writing experience, from beginners to people with MFA degrees and published books. WLT instructors, participants, and administrators all work together to create a welcoming, supportive environment.If you haven’t taken a class with us in recent years, feel free to email WLT Program Director Sam Babiak at sam@writersleague.org if you’d like to discuss whether our programming is the right fit for your needs.
HOW ONLINE CLASSES WORK:
Once you register for the class, you’ll receive an email with detailed instructions no later than 48 hours before the class date. You should expect 2-2.5 hours of direct teaching and 30 minutes of Q&A (for three hours total). If you need to leave the class early or can’t attend the class on that date, all registrants will have access to the recording for one month after the class date. No microphone or camera required, just an Internet connection capable of streaming video. All online classes are hosted on Zoom. To learn more about how Zoom works, click HERE.
Plan to log in to the online platform several hours before the class so that you can update your software or any other settings required to access the platform. (Updates usually only take a few minutes, but you don’t want to wait until the beginning of class.) Questions? Email us at wlt@writersleague.org.
This project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department. Visit Austin at NowPlayingAustin.com.
Writers’ League of Texas classes and workshops are also funded in part by the Texas Commission on the Arts – Investing in a Creative Texas. For more information, go to www.arts.texas.gov.
This project is also supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.
This project is supported in part by the Mid-America Arts Alliance. For more information, go to www.maaa.org.
