Lit!Commons: Poet S1

This pathway, led by Kathryn Kysar, is focused on skillbuilding in your poetry practice. Live sessions will include Q&As, conversation, exercises, and shared support.

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Your Teaching Artist

Lit!Commons Subscribers Gain Access to All 10 Teaching Artists. The Poet path is led by Kathryn Kysar.

The Poet Kathryn Kysar

Kathryn Kysar is the author of two books of poetry, Dark Lake and Pretend the World, and she edited the anthology Riding Shotgun: Women Write About Their Mothers. She has received fellowships and residencies from the Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts, the Minnesota State Arts Board, the National Endowment for the Humanities, Tofte Lake Center, the Oberholtzer Foundation, and Write On, Door County. Her poems, book reviews, travel articles, and essays have been published in the Great River Review, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota Women’s Press, Mizna, The Mollyhouse, Mom Egg Review, Permafrost, Slag Glass City, Stone Coast Review,The Under Review, and many other magazines and anthologies. She has a B.A. from Hamline University and an M.F.A. from Wichita State University. She is the founder of the creative writing program at Anoka-Ramsey Community College, and she has served on the boards of directors for the Association of Writers and Writing Programs and Rain Taxi. She performs with the Sonoglyph Collective, a poetry/improvisational jazz group, and resides in Saint Paul.

The Poet Path

This curriculum will build over time. You get access to it all!

1. Welcome from Kathryn Kysar
2. Introduction to the Poetry Pathway
3. Lit!Commons Shared Values and Rules
1. Basics of Good Poetry Writing: Introduction for The Five Senses
2. Getting Started: Reading Poetry
3. 20 Minute Writing Exercise: The Five Senses
4. Further Reading
1. Basics of Good Writing: Concrete verses Abstract
2. Getting Started: What is a Good Poem and Elements of Poetry
3. 20 Minute Writing Exercise: The "How To" List Poem
4. Further Reading: The "How To" List Poem
1. Basics of Good Writing: Introduction to Interview with Arleta Little
2. Video Interview with Master Poet Arleta Little
3. Further Reading
1. Basics of Good Writing: Similes and Metaphors
2. Reader Response Theory
3. 20 Minutes Revising Exercise: Adding Similes and Metaphors
4. Further Reading: Similes and Metaphors
1. Writing Intimacy: Introduction to the Month and Writing the Family
2. Mini-Craft Talk: Writer's Block
3. Writing Intimacy: The Family: Twenty Minute Exercise Options
4. Further Reading
1. Writing Intimacy: Writing Around Love
2. Mini-Craft Talk: Poetry Titles
3. Writing Intimacy: Discovery on the Dance Floor or Bedroom--Two Exercise Options
4. Writing Intimacy: Further Reading--After-Love Poems
1. Writing Intimacy: Introduction to Our Interview with Kris Bigalk
2. Interview with Kris Bigalk, Poet and Trio House Editor-in-Chief
3. Further Reading: Poems of Intimacy by Kris Bigalk
1. Writing Intimacy: The Self
2. Writing Intimacy: A Self Portrait Exercise
3. Further Reading: Poems of Self
1. Writing Intimacy: Revising for Structure
2. Mini-Craft Talk: Poetry Structure
3. Writing Intimacy: Revision (and/or Writing) Exercise
4. Further reading: Thinking about Structures
1. Writing Place: An Introduction to the June Poetry Pathway Plans
2. June Poetry Pathways Response Questions
3. Writing Place: A River or Outdoor Observation Exercise
4. Writing Place: Further River (and One Lake) Reading
1. Week Of June 12 Poetry Pathway Introduction
2. Mini-Craft Talk: Getting Started with Magazine Poetry Publication
3. Writing Place Exercise: An Indoor Poem of Place or First/Last Snow
4. Further Reading: Poetry of Place Reading and Publication Options for You
1. Introduction to Week of June 19: Writing Bios and Poetry of Heid Erdrich
2. Poetry Pathway: Writing Bios for Poetry Publication
3. Heid Erdrich's "Pre-occupied" Video Poem and other links
4. Heid Erdrich: Further Reading
1. Poetry Pathway: Writing Place: June 26 Introduction
2. Color-Coded Poetry Revision Exercise
1. Poetry Pathway: Introduction to July's Crossing Genres Themes and Persona Poems the Week of July 10
2. Crossing Genres: The Persona Poem And Appropriation Readings
3. Persona Poem Exercise
4. July Poetry Pathway Revision and Response Questions from Poet Jane Hirshfield
1. July 17 Poetry Pathway: Lyric Essays verses Prose Poems
1. Introduction to July 24: Interview with April Gibson
2. Video Interview with April Gibson
1. Looking to Visual Art for Structure: A Lesson with Layli Long Soldier's "Obligations 2"
1. Stop Making Sense: August 7 Introduction
2. Stop Making Sense: Substitution Exercise
3. August Poetry Discussion Questions
1. Stop Making Sense: August 14 Introduction to First Lines and Overcoming Negative Self Talk
2. Mini-Craft Talk: Overcoming Negative Self-Talk
3. Stop Making Sense: First Lines Exercise
1. Stop Making Sense: Introduction to Interview with Roy Guzman
2. Interview with Roy Guzman
1. Stop Making Sense: Re-visioning with Poetry Confetti
1. Welcome to Submission September!
2. Submission September! Plans for September Zoom Meetings Fridays 10:30-11:30 AM CST
3. Getting Started With Poetry Periodical Publication (repost from June 10)
4. Considering Online Journals
1. Finding Journals for Poetry Publication: A Collaborative Project
1. Poetry Pathway September 18: Zoom Readings, Literary Magazines, and House Poems
2. Presenting Your Poetry at Zoom Readings
3. The Basics of Bios (reposted from June 19th)
1. Submission September: Suggested Magazines, Luck Poems, Session One Survey, and Community Connections
2. Literary Magazines for Lit!Commons Poets: A Completely Incomplete List
3. Poetry Pathway Session One Feedback Survey

About this path

Weekly On-Demand Lessons
Live Follow-up Sessions
Shared Community