Meets on Wednesdays, 3:15-5:45 p.m., KUY 409
KUMU: Noʻu Revilla, she/her/hers
EMAIL: (nrevilla@hawaii.edu)
STUDENT HOURS: Thur, 1:30-2:30
OFFICE: KUY 719
Course Description
Workshops are a central mode of learning in creative writing programs. In this course, I’m not only interested in what it means to write creatively but also what it means to live a creative life. Throughout the semester, we will contribute to ongoing efforts to decolonize the poetry workshop and cultivate more writer-led and anti-racist approaches to feedback. Throughout the semester, each student will develop and revise original poems and lead at least two 30-minute workshops, in which they facilitate feedback about poems composed for this class. This graduate course will also consider practical dimensions of creative writing, such as submitting your work for publication, promoting your work, and earning positive relationships with writing mentors. For students who are writing creative theses or dissertations, this course is designed to help you produce poems as well as usable content for your critical introduction. For students who are not writing creative theses or dissertations, this course will energize your scholarship with creative modes of inquiry, expressive tools, and a regular writing community.
Some advice for the journey ahead: slow down. Be precise. Practice wonder and gratitude. Ask better questions. Read widely. Take time to ground your readers in the world of your poem through imagery and sound. Read your work out loud. Ask others to read your work out loud. Write what compels you but dig deeper than that first burst. ʻEliʻeli kau mai. Surprise lives there.
Required Course Materials
In addition to a dedicated notebook and a pen/pencil for in-class writing, all enrolled students must purchase paperback copies of the following two texts:
- Michelle Peñaloza, All the Words I Can Remember Are Poems, Persea Books, 2025 Order through Persea Books or Bookshop.org
- Felicia Rose Chavez, The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop: How to Decolonize the Creative Classroom, Haymarket Books, 2021 Order through Haymarket Books or Bookshop.org
We will also be reading chapters from The Art of Revising Poetry: 21 U.S. Poets on their Drafts, Craft, and Process (edited by Charles Finn and Kim Stafford, published by Bloomsbury 2023). While students are encouraged to order a paperback copy through Bloomsbury or Bookshop.org, a digital copy is available through OneSearch.
Other assigned readings will be made available as hyperlinks or PDFs. Students are responsible for downloading, reading, and bringing texts to each class. I expect every student to read assigned work with intention and curiosity. Be prepared to discuss readings in class. Students are also responsible for coordinating regular access to the Internet and must understand how to navigate their hawaii.edu email accounts and our course Google folder. Check your email on a regular basis for announcements.
Major Assignments
- Original poems submitted for instructor and workshop feedback
- Workshop (2): facilitation and materials
- Close readings (4)
- Midterm: conversation with instructor
- Revision packet
- End-of-the-semester reading & potluck