7-week Intermediate/Advanced Poetry Workshop with Gabrielle Bates [Start Date: April 9, 2022]

*** This class is full! If you would like to be on the wait list or receive an email the next time this workshop is offered, please email classes@openpoetrybooks.com, subject line "Wait List for Advanced/Intermediate Workshop with Gabrielle Bates." ***

7 Sessions: Saturdays, April 2 - May 21, 3pm-5pm PT

In-Person

Max: 7 people

Min: 4 people

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

In this workshop we will push ourselves to articulate descriptive—rather than evaluative—feedback on poems, focusing on the relationship between content and form, specific craft elements, and potential connections to literary lineages and traditions. Our goal will be to empower revisions that honor authorial individuality and ambition, while also providing poets with insight into how their work might activate more resonance in readers. Our intimate class size, capped at seven people, is perfect for sustaining active discussion, and each student will have the opportunity to workshop at least four original poems.

In addition to the workshopping element, the instructor will bring in material tailored to student interests and aesthetics, provide occasional take-home writing and revision prompts, and offer counsel—if desired—regarding the ins and outs of poetry publication.

If you’ve been wanting to reconnect with your poems, seek out a local poetry community, or push your poem drafts further, this is the course for you!

About the “Intermediate/Advanced” Designation: “Intermediate/Advanced” means this workshop is ideal for people with some previous experience writing, revising, workshopping, and/or publishing poetry. If you are uncertain about whether or not this level is a good fit for you, please reach out to the instructor at gabbybates(at)gmail(dot)com using the subject line “Intermediate/Advanced Poetry Workshop at Open Books”—She would be very happy to chat with you about it!

About the Instructor: Gabrielle Bates is the author of the poetry collection Judas Goat, forthcoming from Tin House in 2023. Her poems have appeared in the New Yorker, Poetry Magazine, Ploughshares, American Poetry Review, and BAX: Best American Experimental Writing, and she has worked as a literary journal editor and manuscript consultant in a variety of capacities since 2012. The recipient of support from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Artist Trust, and Hugo House, she currently manages the Parlor at Open Books: A Poem Emporium, co-hosts the podcast The Poet Salon, and teaches occasionally through the University of Washington Rome Center in Italy.  www.gabriellebat.es or on Twitter (@GabrielleBates).

Student Testimonials:

“I have taken many poetry courses from various poets, famous and less well known, at Key West Literary Seminar, Wilkes College, and the William Paterson Summer program. Gabrielle Bates [at the Rosenbach Museum] was the best teacher I have encountered. She was clear when explaining and describing different kinds of poetry and gave valuable handouts. Gabrielle has the talent to listen to each student's poem and find excellent connections, sounds, vivid images, and meaning…” —Adelle G., Philadelphia

"Having read Gabrielle Bates’s poetry and wanting to stretch my own writing muscles after a few years in a different career, I can say that I couldn't be more grateful at having had the opportunity to take her class. It far exceeded my expectations. Gabrielle is a true visionary and has a down-to-earth approach that makes the poetic image very real, approachable, and exciting… I highly recommend her classes and believe you’ll find them incredibly rewarding." —Ed M., Long Island

About the Space: The Parlor is a cozy, inspiring room with a large library table, exposed brick, and natural light, attached to Open Books: A Poem Emporium, located at 108 Cherry Street in downtown Seattle. Just a short jaunt from the Pioneer Square Light Rail Station and surrounded by ample street and garage parking, the Parlor offers a haven for private studio time and gatherings of up to 8 people. For photos of the space and more information (including how to book the Parlor for your own writing time, co-working, or meeting), check out The Parlor page (link coming soon!).

Masks will be required for Open Books classes until further notice. Thank you for understanding!

If you have any questions about this course, or any other class at Open Books, please email classes@openpoetrybooks.com and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.