Marc Olmsted | Writers.com

Word Flashes & Eye Snapshots: Sketching Your Life Awake

Frederick Meyer — Sat, 17 Sep 2022 23:38:35 +0000

For poets, novelists, flash writers, essayists and memoirists. For any writer who wants to root their writing in vision and their vision in the body.

Allen Ginsberg taught Marc Olmsted how to write poetry and Marc is passing on what he learned, contributing to a lineage that stretches back through Ginsberg to Walt Whitman.

Sketching is Jack Kerouac’s term for recording images seen and the associations and memories they invoke with a snapshot-like technique of minute particulars and attention to the words that convey them precisely rather than with “editorial” language (generalities of object and emotion).

Sketching can be done in fiction, journal or poetry. Its form is primarily prose, but is easily adapted to poetry by breaking the line if one chooses. Sketching has a strong, vital application in modern “flash” (brief) fiction and non-fiction. The class aims more toward process than form. So you can use verse, prose poems, flash – maybe also journal entries, letters, scribbles on napkins, letters? Welcome – poets, fiction writers and journal keepers – Word people all!

What winds up happening in paying attention to the “haiku moments” of our existence is a rediscovery of our world with a sense of wonder. By this appreciation without grasping, we come awake in the sacred, present already in the details and images of our lives but generally lost through inattention. We develop a stronger presence and grow new eyes and ears. And, like all great poets and writers, we root of our words in our bodies and senses as well as our spirits.

Marc had such a nice balance of amplifying my strengths and giving me the confidence as a beginner, while gradually providing concrete feedback and areas of improvement. I really appreciated this approach.
—Brenda Umana

Course Syllabus

Week One: Snapshots

Writing Mindfulness: Sensual World/Poetry Mind

Frederick Meyer — Sat, 17 Sep 2022 23:38:31 +0000

Being present with what arises in the mind is the beginning of where it all starts, whether the desire to have a cup of coffee or the inspiration to write.

If we allow the mind to settle, it reveals a series of strobing thoughts. The gap between them allows what comes up next.

The more we let things happen, the more relaxed mind is, and the less tight our sense of self becomes. Mindfulness is the ground where spontaneity rises. The spontaneous is without critic and the essence of creativity.

Observing arising perceptions accurately, whether outside haiku moments or inner shudders of memory and feeling are why we love great writers and want to join them in our own expressions.

Marc’s insightful comments reminded me of elements of my writing that I’d let slip over the years, and for that I’m grateful and newly inspired.
—Chris Parmentier

Zoom Schedule

We will meet for one hour on Zoom each week to build community and discuss our poetry. This is an optional component of the course. The date and time for these calls will be scheduled after the course begins.

Please note, we will not meet the week of Christmas.

Weekly Syllabus

In this four week class, we will meld the language mind with the sensual. We’ll discover how to turn detailed observation into a poem. You will write and post a poem each week inspired by the lecture and samples from works that embody it.

Week One: Visual

(Live Workshop) Haiku & Senryu: Rekindling A Sense of Wonder

Frederick Meyer — Sat, 17 Sep 2022 23:38:24 +0000

Appreciating life’s every-day “snapshots” is possible even in private and global stressful times. Get this poetic habit for finding and establishing art in daily routine.

This is a generative workshop that will exam the related Japanese genres of haiku, haibun and senryu (collectively known as haikai) with attention to measure, topics and forms. Though many are familiar with haiku, senryu and haibun are lesser known. Haiku deals with nature. Senryu takes the same form as haiku but with human nature and its foibles as its subject matter, and haibun is a short prose poem ending with a haiku. Please bring a pocket notebook and pen or pencil, or use your phone..

Because these styles are essentially a contemplative art, students will also be grounded in a sense of wonder and appreciation without grasping ( not clinging to that which changes) for proper preparation.

Styles will include the traditional and the modern, including poets who don’t follow the 5-7-5 syllable line most of us learned in high school (Jack Kerouac) and the “American sentence” – a 17-syllable sentence invented by Allen Ginsberg. Open to all levels from beginner’s mind to advanced practitioner.

Learning and Writing Goals

By the end of this webinar, you will have learned and crafted:

A daily poetry practice that takes only minutes
How to write a successful haiku, senryu and haikbun
Selecting vividness of image rather than generalized or “editorial” language
Cheering up in a challenging world with this poetic view
The possibility of embracing the bittersweet beauty and loss of constant change

Webinar Schedule

This webinar runs on Zoom from 7-10pm EST. The schedule is as follows:

7-8 pm: Introductions & lecture.
8-9 pm: Read examples of haiku; guided writing exercise
9-10 pm: Share writing, Q&A, and lecture.

Expect in-depth instruction, laughter and energizing discussion. Anyone who does not want to read what they wrote in class but wants private feedback can e-mail the instructors afterwards. An on-line journal of some student poetry from the class will be posted on the Writers.com website.

Why Take a Haiku Writing Course with Writers.com?

We welcome writers of all backgrounds and experience levels, and we are here for one reason: to support you on your writing journey.
Small groups keep our online writing courses lively and intimate.
Work through your weekly lectures, course materials, and writing assignments at your own pace.
Share and discuss your work with fellow writers in a supportive course environment.
Award-winning instructor Marc Olmsted will offer you direct, personal feedback and suggestions on every assignment you submit.

Notify me when this course is scheduled

The post (Live Workshop) Haiku & Senryu: Rekindling A Sense of Wonder appeared first on Writers.com.

Observing What’s Vivid in Prose and Poetry

Frederick Meyer — Sat, 17 Sep 2022 23:38:23 +0000

No ideas but in things.—William Carlos Williams
Labor well the minute particulars, take care of the little ones. —William Blake
Don’t think of words when you stop but to see the picture better. —Jack Kerouac

These three great writers are all telling us one thing: Pay attention to your world’s specific details, whether interior thought-flickers or exterior events. These specifics are what excite us when we read great prose or poetry.

In this course, you’ll learn to move away from generalities and idea-only editorial language into a more vivid, fresh, startling presentation in your writing.

We’ll practice sharpening our awareness to details, including by learning a simple, open-eyed mindfulness technique for observing the world. We’ll consider how our choice of language can represent our experience in various formats: “snapshot,” “sketch,” “movie,” “painting.” We’ll also look at our previous work, including journals and letters, and how they can be “mined” for details and moments that can generate further writing.

We welcome beginners and experts alike in this course. Either way, bring the freshness of your beginner’s mind!

Please note: this course will not meet the week of Thanksgiving. The 4 weekly lessons are spread over 5 weeks.

Learning and Writing Goals

During this course, students will:

Learn spontaneous methods of composition with an eye to specific details.
Reconsider your own language in a movement from expected generalities to surprising images.
Learn to express the uniqueness of the moment with simplicity.
Write four pieces that the instructor and group will workshop.

Zoom Schedule

Observing What’s Vivid: Course Syllabus

Week 1: Snapshots