Poetry is about depth: deep joy, deep sadness, deep pleasure, and deep discovery. But tapping into that depth means taking the plunge into a committed writing practice among dedicated peers—and that’s what these 8 months of writing together will be all about. If you've tired of falling flat after short-term writing classes, are considering the full academic immersion of an MFA program, or are trying to hold onto the intensity of a long-term program you’ve recently finished, then this workshop is for you.

 

Over eight months, we’ll write new poems, experiment with workshop styles that suit you as a developing artist, build a strong strategy for revision, and drink deeply from the pool of dynamic contemporary poetry being written and published today. Honing your own poetics with an eye towards the strengths that you bring to the page will prepare us for important discussions of how to construct a larger body of work and how to share that work with the wider world through publication. This is a course that will deepen an already present commitment to poetry and set you up for the long writer’s journey among friends. 

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While the year-long course is flexible enough to accommodate poets at a range of stages, this class is intended for those who are prepared to commit to the deep work of exploration within a supportive community of writers. Whether you are in the midst of a book project or simply looking to sustain an ongoing writing practice, this intensive course will provide the structure and home your work has been looking for—all you have to do is dive in.

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What you get: 

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• In-class writing prompts designed to get you out of your writing ruts and into the deep magic of discovery on the page

• Weekly discussion of close readings of a wide range of contemporary poetry across styles and voices, including  international work in translation

• Generous and frequent workshopping of your poems in a constructive community dedicated to supporting your voice and your project

• More than 30 new poems written and revised, plus a toolbox of techniques for engaging further with your drafts

• ​Informed guidance around magazine and book publishing, book reviewing, and arranging a first collection or chapbook

• ​3 classroom visits from some of the best poets publishing today

• ​3 private consultations with Keetje, including tailored feedback on your work and personalized suggestions for submitting your poems to magazines and presses

• Monthly drop-in office hours for further conversation

• ​8 months of supportive accountability as you build a sustainable writing practice both within community and on your own

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No class: 10/6, 10/27, 11/10, 11/24, 12/22, 12/29, 1/5, 3/2, 3/30, 4/6

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Private consultations held the weeks of : 11/10, 3/2, and 4/6

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Outline:

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Fall (Sept-Nov):  

 

In our first season, class time will focus on generative writing, putting the building blocks in place for a sustainable writing practice, and reading closely in order to gather new tools for expanding your craft. You will write generatively in class and also be given prompts to continue your practice at home, focusing these pursuits on your particular writing project and identifying your personal writing goals. Mini-workshops will happen weekly for all community members as we prepare for longer excavations and bigger-picture conversations later in the year. If you are already working on a manuscript, this is the time to reconsider its boundaries, identify what’s missing, and approach the work with renewed curiosity about what is left to discover in those pages. A well-published poet with a new book out in the world will help guide us on this journey by meeting with our class to share their perspective on process and path.

 

Expect to write at least 10 new drafts of poems and to develop a writing routine that is in tune with your particular artistic rhythms. Additionally, you will read 3-5 contemporary poems per week for craft discussion, as well as work by your peers. You will have your first one-on-one consultation with Keetje.

 

Winter (Dec-Mar): 

 

Here our workshops will deepen as we begin to learn each other’s voices on the page and grow our understanding of each community member’s goals for both individual poems and the year-long writing project as a whole. With trust built from months of conversation together, we will feel more comfortable pushing our work beyond our writing comfort zones—and we will be more prepared to cheer each other on as we do so. More time will be spent with student work in detailed discussion, and we’ll practice digging into craft elements that are suggested by your own writing. Revision will be approached as a long-term practice rather than an editing session, and you’ll take at least one of your poems through multiple drafts in repeated workshops. If your project is a full-length manuscript, you’ll have the opportunity to revisit poems you thought were “done,” and to consider how emerging strengths and themes can be expanded upon in new work. Another well-published poet with a new book out in the world will meet with our class to develop our understanding of how a single poem grows into its own fullness—and how a collection can be built one poem at a time.

 

Expect to write 10 more new drafts this season, while also developing a revision practice that will allow you to bring re-explored poems back to workshop in new forms and incarnations. Your second one-on-one consultation with Keetje will focus on identifying your poetic tendencies—obsessions, tics, crutches, and your own particular home-run skill sets as a writer—and where you want to take them next as you hone the one and only voice that’s yours alone.

 

Spring (Mar-May): 

 

In our third season, we will devote our workshop to the pleasures and pitfalls of creating a collection, whether a full-length book or chapbook. You will be encouraged to think about your work in the context of contemporary poetry, and, in particular, where and how you would like to join that dynamic conversation. Our own discussions will delve more deeply into the work of submitting to literary journals, and as a group we will create a list of magazines to send our work to. You’ll decide which of your poems are ready to go, and we’ll sit down together to send them out into the wider world. We’ll also discuss how to apply for residencies and conferences, what it looks like to create a project proposal, getting started with book reviewing, and how to continue building community through literary citizenship both local and far-flung. A third and final well-published poet with a new book out in the world will meet with our class to share the ways they’ve grown their literary community over the years, including the most meaningful and sustaining in-community practices they continue to rely on in their writing life beyond the rewards of publication.

 

You’ll decide whether your interests lie in continuing to generate new poems or in focused revision. Workshops will be tailored to meet the needs of community members who would like us to consider single poems or short sequences of work. Your final one-on-one consultation with Keetje will focus on next steps and what you have to look forward to as you continue your writing practice. 

 

Conclusion (June): 

 

We will close out our 8 months together with a celebration of your work and a virtual reading to which you can invite friends and family. As a trusted community of writers, we will mark each other’s successes and share where we plan to take our writing lives next.

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Yearlong ​Payment Plan:

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Deposit $500 due upon acceptance.

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Full payment ($4450) or first installment ($2450) due September 1, 2026. Proper payment adjustments will be made for early bird applicants.

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Second installment ($2000) due January 1, 2027.

 

No refunds of course deposit. After first class, students are responsible for full payment for the year-long course. If Left Margin LIT cancels the course before its scheduled starting date, all payments and deposits will be fully refunded.