The Poetry Lab
HEY POET! WELCOME TOWhere Workshops Work Differently.
RECENT RESOURCES
HELPFUL HINTS The Poetry of a Busy Life: Cultivating Daily Habits for Your Writing Practice
ANGELA YEH
I do it to myself. I chose to adopt a cat, then a dog, then a guinea pig. I decided to work full-time and have two beautiful children. I chose a husband who moved us to a different country and who works a lot. I chose to love all of that and still yearn for more. More words. More books. More poems. More life. More messy. More wild. What I really need isn’t less. I don’t want less of the job I am passionate about, nor do I want less of my kids, kids I would step in front of a bus for. It isn’t fewer opportunities or less fun. What I need is MORE. More moments of noticing. More practicing ‘poet’s mind.’ More quiet times where I am aware that I am a teensy, tiny speck of nothingness, yet also a part of this mysterious, awe-inspiring community of humans who choose to work together and love one another. I want more of how I feel when I am in ‘poet’s mind’…
INSPIRATION 101 Six Journaling Prompts to Turn Daily Practice into Poems
KELSEY BRYAN-ZWICK
I am a sincere believer that practice makes poems. I consider myself a poet not because I have written poems, but rather because I continue to engage in the process of writing poems. It is the process that I love, that keeps my wheels turning, my gears grinding, my lights flickering on and off. As much as I am pleased with any ‘finished poem,’ it is the poems I have yet to write, the ones I am currently writing, that drive me as a poet.
Over the years a big part of that process continues to be journaling. And I don’t mean documenting what I had for breakfast, and not because I didn’t eat breakfast, I mean journaling as a creative practice.
I have been a journaling girly who junk-journaled since I was a pre-teen, before I even knew what junk journaling was. Journaling was how I learned that I loved to write poems for myself…
WHAT WE DOOur poetry classes fill in the gap between the MFA and the real-world writer. Our community is about connection, accountability, and joy. We know that writing is often a solitary art form, but we work to build a path towards a consistent writing practice, deepening craft skills, and ending isolation. You no longer have to write, edit, and read alone!
Write
We love to read poetry books! We love to talk about the books we’re reading—these discussions take place in our Resource Center, newsletter, live classes, and on the podcast. As a community of self-guided learners, we believe that reading is the best way to improve our writing independently.
Read
Collaborate
After we’ve taken classes and done the reading we try to expand upon the ideas we’ve learned. This expansion can be found in our Resource Center and weekly newsletter where we share insights on poetic forms, structures, elements of craft, and tips from our writing lives.
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