Workshop·Live, one to one·Two classes · two hours
Figure and ground
Two live meetings, one to one. The times are arranged with you. A poem that sits on one plane is rewritten until something stays in front and something holds it from behind.
If everything is on the same plane, the line has no relief.
Ground
A poem with a single plane has no relief. Figure is what can be pointed at. Ground is what makes it possible and stays unexplained.
Aim
- See, in a poem, what is in front and what stays behind.
- Rewrite a text of your own with a distinguishable figure and ground.
- Leave with a criterion for the next poem, not only this one.
It trains
Separate what is in front from what holds it.
Contents
1See the plane
1.1One plane
If everything is equally in front, the line has no relief.
1.2The figure
What is perceived in front. What the reader can point at.
1.3The ground
What makes the figure possible and stays back, unexplained.
2Name and leave
2.1What is named
One thing in front. Not the whole poem at once.
2.2What is left
What holds it does not need a caption.
2.3Someone else's poem
You read one by another writer to see the relief before touching your own.
3Your own text
3.1A short text
You choose a draft that is flat, not the prettiest one.
3.2One rewrite
You leave one thing in front and move the rest back.
3.3The criterion
You look at what changed, so you can do it again on the next poem.
Questions
Do I have to arrive with a poem?
Yes, a short one. If you do not have one, the first class uses someone else's poem and in the second you write yours.
Is it a video?
No. It is live, one to one. The time is arranged by email.
What do I take if I do not finish a new poem?
A text rewritten with figure and ground, and a criterion for looking at the next one.
What if I don't think of myself as a poet?
You don't have to. The work is a text of yours. A short draft is enough. If there is no poem, one sentence is enough.
It is live, one to one, on Zoom. The time is arranged by email.
Next workshop: The poetic image.
After one tool, the next step is the 15-minute call, or group mentorship. Book the call · See how to continue