Spring 2020 ROMP Poetry Workshop

tumblr_omoismbmLS1s31yy6o1_1280Spring Online Workshop

April 26-June 20, 2020

A NOTE from ROMP Director Shaun Perkins:

Giving feedback to others requires that everyone have a mutual understanding and agreement about feedback and the context in which it is given. In a normal workshop setting, there is a specific protocol put in place by the facilitator to ensure that feedback is useful and that participants are not negatively affected by it.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the ROMP Spring 2020 Poetry Workshop is to encourage people to write poetry to share with one another, to give and receive feedback, and if desired, to revise and improve their work. With that in mind, all participants need to follow these guidelines.

CLASS GUIDELINES:

  • Participants can post one poem per week for everyone in the class to read.
  • Participants must state at the beginning of their post which feedback they want. They should choose ONE of these three:
    1. No Feedback
    2. Positive Only Feedback
    3. Revision Feedback
  • Participants are not required to respond to the poems, but if they do, they should adhere to these types of feedback.

FEEDBACK DESCRIPTIONS:

  1. No Feedback: Only read the poem. Do not offer any feedback at all. The poet chose the option in order to share the poem but does not want any response to it.
  2. Positive Only Feedback: Read the poem and offer only positive comments about it. Offer something concrete about something specific in the poem. This option works well for people who only want to know what works in their poem.
  3. Revision Feedback: Read the poem and then offer BOTH a specific positive comment and a comment about something specific that could be revised. This option is for people who want to hear both positive ideas about their poem and also specific advice about how to improve it.

One other note about feedback: Participants should not assume that the poem is specifically about the poet. For 1st person poems especially, it is best to refer to the “speaker” in the poem and not to “you,” meaning the actual writer of the poem.

I will respond with feedback to every poem. We will put together a class anthology at the end of the class, as we have done before. We will also have an Outstanding Poem per week, and the winner will receive $25 for it.

There may be other prizes (Most Improved, Best Revision, etc.) that are awarded at the end of the class.

Anyone of any age can participate in the class, which means that poems should be appropriate for all ages. This does not mean they have to be written for any age audience, just that profanity, pornographic imagery, obscenity, etc. are not allowed.

To reduce a glut of emails, this class will be conducted through a Google Groups forum. You will need an email address linked to a Google account in order to participate.  See the guides at the bottom of this page if you need help with this.

You can choose which way you want to receive and see posts: through separate emails, through a summary of posts in one email, or with no email and posts are only viewed from the online forum page.

Let’s use this unusual spring to explore poetry and bring it out and into the lives of others.

If you have questions, email ROMPoetry@gmail.com.

–ROMP Director Shaun Perkins

The deadline for enrolling in this class has passed.

Helpful Information on Google Accounts:

How to Make a Google Account with Any Email Address

Google Groups Sign-Up Help