Tuesday, June 3rd, 10th, 17th, and 24th

5:30PM-7:30PM Phoenix MST
Location: Zoom
 

What to expect at a glance:

• Strategies on how to gather and order a poetry manuscript or chapbook
• New drafts of poems for your collection
• Insights into thematic elements in your poetry

Course Description:

Delve into your poetry by exploring what themes are threaded through your poems and use this exploration to structure a full-length manuscript or chapbook. Analyze the work of other poets and use this activity to influence or inspire your own manuscript, one with sections or no sections but one with a system that urges the reader to keep going until the final poem. Consider writing in new forms and styles to inject surprising elements and experimental pieces into your body of work. Engage in writing activities that illuminate the themes inside of you that surface and shine in your poems. Even if you feel you have a chaotic grouping of poems, use this class to learn about your writing and the best way to gather the work you create.

About the instructor:

Jenny Benjamin is the owner of her freelance writing and editing business JB Communications, LLC. Over fifty of her poems have appeared in journals, including DIAGRAM, South Carolina Review, Fulcrum, Baltimore Review, Chelsea, and the Crab Orchard Review. Her first novel, This Most Amazing, was published in 2013 by Armida Books in Nicosia, Cyprus. Her poetry chapbooks, More Than a Box of Crayons (2018) and Painted Women in the Walls (2025), were published by Finishing Line Press. Her poetry chapbook, Midway, earned second place in the 2017 No Chair Press contest and was published in April 2018. Enhanced and Corrupted, the first two books of her young adult, science fiction trilogy were published by Ananke Press (October 2021, July 2022). Redeemed: Book Three of the Terrian Trilogy came out in January 2023. Her novel Heather Finch was published by Running Wild Press (June 2022). She lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. More information can be found on her website: http://jenny-benjamin.com/