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​COMEDY IN POETRY​
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Poets can be funny! And no, that's not a joke! Many poets use humor to vault their poems in shocking, surprising, delightful directions. But tossing humor inside a poem can feel particularly daunting. Fear not! Let me welcome you to COMEDY IN POETRY, a generative craft class built for beginners and beyond. Over the course of five weeks, we’ll orbit and analyze poems so funny yet simultaneously so smart, your gut will be busting and your brain will be bursting, all at once!
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Each week, we’ll dive inside a different comedic-poetry pocket: from the comedic possibilities of the persona poem to the surprising emotionality of comedic poetry. This is a generative course, which means you’ll emerge with at least four original poems (prompts will be provided). You’ll also emerge with an expanded library of the writers who aren't afraid to pepper their poems with jokes. Class will be lively, vibrant, and supportive, a fertile environment for your zaniest ideas.
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SCHEDULE
​I will be offering ONE session of COMEDY IN POETRY meeting Tuesdays, from 7:30-9:15 EDT, beginning Tuesday, April 8th​
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Class Schedule
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Week 1: Chucklepunched: Comedic Poetry's Power / April 8th
Week 2: Logic to Lo-joke: Comedic Shortcuts / April 15th
Week 3: Shock and Ha: Comedy of Surprise / April 22nd
Week 4: Prankster Personas: Comedic Persona Poems / April 29th
Week 5: Horny HaHas: Funny. Sexy. Poetry. / May 6th
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​Tech: Each session will be facilitated through Zoom
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Readings: All readings (craft essays and poems) will be sent weekly via email.
Cost: $200 for five weeks of workshop
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I want this class to be accessible to all who would like to participate. If you’d like to sponsor a person in need, please contact me at jwtvrdy@gmail.com.
Payment: To claim a spot in the class, you must pay the $200 fee before the first session via Paypal or Venmo
Paypal: josh.tvrdy123@gmail.com
Venmo: @Joshua-Tvrdy
Cancellations/Refunds: If you need to cancel, please let me know at least 3 days before the first class session, and I will be able to refund your workshop fee. No refunds for cancellations after the first session.
Questions/Concerns: If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at jwtvrdy@gmail.com.
FYI: This is not a workshop-based poetry class. Instead, we’ll prioritize discovery and creation as we learn, together, how to make and read poems. If you're looking for more specialized poetry editing / revising, please visit my "Coaching" tab.​
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"The mind acts, the mind wills a poem, often against our own will; somehow this happens, somehow a poem gets written in the middle of a chaotic holiday party that has just run out of ice, and it's your house."
--Mary Ruefle, from "On Beginnings"