A draft of a poem isn’t a broken thing that needs to be fixed. It’s not a clear, rational argument that needs a little cleaning up, a little editing. It’s a missive from another world that has thus far been only partially-translated. Or, as writes Philip Metres in The Art of Losing (and other Visions of Revision), “Your work is not full of mistakes, and it’s not broken. It’s just not itself yet”.

A draft is nothing but the ingredients for a poem, lined up and waiting for the skilled chef to go to work. But there’s no definitive recipe, either, because each poem, if it’s good, is a new thing that has never existed yet. It’s a bird, not a birdhouse, as Dean Young tells us in The Art of Recklessness. A poem is something wild and mysterious that is trying to be born, and your arsenal of revision skills may make the difference, for the poem, between living and dying.

Please note – This is an online revision workshop, so please bring a draft of a poem.

Part of the Accents Originals Series in partnership with Accents Publishing

Register through Accents: https://bit.ly/revision_superpower

Tuesday, May 12, 6:00–8:00 PM • $40.00