Form's Not Dead: New and Invented Forms

When we think of poetic forms, we tend to think about traditional received forms such as the sonnet, the villanelle, the sestina, the ghazal, and many others. These forms are classic and have been handed down over the years, though are still being used in new and exciting ways by contemporary poets. Of course, all forms are invented—and that invention hasn’t stopped. 

Contemporary poets are still inventing new and exciting forms, and rather than focus on more traditional and familiar forms, in this four-week online workshop we will explore poems by contemporary poets who have invented new forms. These forms are quickly becoming popular, so we will have a variety of poems to read. 

In each class, we will read and discuss new-form poems by a number of poets, including Terrance Hayes, Jericho Brown, torrin a. greathouse, E. Kristin Anderson, and Tonee Mae Moll, who have invented and used the new forms we will discuss. We will also experiment with writing our own versions of these forms. 

Participants can expect to spend some of our class time writing in form, as well as about 30 minutes to 1 hour per week outside of class reading the poems for the following week so we can have a good discussion. 

Instructor

Griffin Rockwell is a queer poet who often writes about gender, science, pop culture, and unusual connections. Xe is the author of the chapbooks listen— (Interstellar Flight Press), body in motion (perhappened press), and Lexicon of Future Selves (VA Press). Their work has also appeared in AGNI, Okay Donkey, Santa Fe Review, Poet Lore, Whale Road Review, HAD, and elsewhere. They earned their MFA at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and their MLitt at the University of Dundee. Find xer website and socials at https://linktr.ee/griffinrockwell.