Workshop·Live, one to one·Two classes · two hours
Seven closing lines
Two live meetings, one to one. The times are arranged with you. The last line is looked at to see whether it opens, cuts, or puts the poem out. You rewrite the ending without explaining it, and choose between two closings.
The ending does not have to summarize the poem.
Ground
An ending that summarizes the poem loosens the line. A working ending leaves the sense doing something.
Aim
- Tell apart endings that open, that cut, or that put the poem out.
- Rewrite the ending of a poem without explaining it.
- Have two endings, and a criterion for choosing.
It trains
End without explaining.
Contents
1How it closes
1.1Three effects
An ending opens, cuts, or puts the poem out.
1.2The one that summarizes
If it explains the poem, the line goes slack.
1.3The one that works
It leaves the sense doing something. It does not close it with a moral.
2Seven endings
2.1The types
The seven are seen in poems, not on an empty list.
2.2The extra explanation
You mark the line that says what was already read.
2.3Cut earlier
The useful break is often one line before the conclusion.
3Two endings of your own
3.1The poem you already have
You use one that is finished, or nearly.
3.2Two closes
The same text, two different last lines.
3.3A criterion
You choose without asking the poem to explain itself.
Questions
What if my poem has no ending?
One is written in the second class. The criterion is the same: do not explain.
Is it live?
No. It is recorded. Access arrives by email when you reserve.
Will the whole poem be corrected?
No. The focus is the ending. The rest is touched only if it gets in the way of the close.
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: Seven opening lines.
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