Perhaps no major poet other than Thomas Hardy rivals W. H. Auden in the variety of verse forms, meters, stanzas, and rhyme schemes the poet makes use of. If you’re interested in a deep study of Auden with like-minded poets, this year’s Master Poets Critical Seminar: The Forms of Auden might be for you.
Seminar attendees gather over three days to study their choice of Auden’s poems and discuss the master’s work using the lens of form, as well as other approaches. The purpose? To explore Auden’s technique as a stimulus for participants’ own poems and as a launching pad for experimentation.
The seminar leader, David M. Katz, takes a community approach, contacting all participants in advance of the Conference to focus on poem selections, study approaches, and resources. At the three-day seminar itself, poets present their thoughts on their chosen Auden poems and participate in lively, engaged conversation.
Says David Katz: “Auden has been a huge practical influence on my own poetry. I say practical because I’ve found that his forms, meters, and ideas of what a poem can be have often generated new work or furthered developing work. He provides a bountiful toolbox we can use in our own making.”
To register for the Conference and seminar, click here. To contact David Katz for more information, please send an email to poetryby_thesea@yahoo.com with “Seminar” in the subject line.