Narrative Poetry: Making the Story Sing with JD Debski

The narrative poem is one of the evergreen modes of writing. It’s been around since the ancient epics and persists in the work of contemporary writers around the world. Not only is the study of narrative poetry crucial for poets looking to sharpen their storytelling skills, but it is also invaluable for prose writers looking to add poetic techniques such as metaphor, image, and rhythm to their arsenal. In this course, we will explore the intersection between storytelling and lyric, searching for that “luminous detail” (as T.S. Eliot called it) that makes our stories sing. This course will include close readings of relevant texts, exploratory writing exercises, and workshopping of participants’ original work.