"I’ve always thought of line breaks as the poem’s body language.” (Marianne Chan)

In this workshop, we will focus on what, arguably, distinguishes poetry from prose—the line. For example, James Longenbach defines poetry as, “the sound of language organized in lines.”

We’ll look at samples and respond to prompts to consider how attention to lines and line breaks can maximize the effects and meanings of our poems: Why use enjambment versus the end-stopped line? What’s the relationship between a line and a sentence? How can the line be used to create rhythm? All levels welcome!

Cost: $20

Madeleine Wattenberg is the author of I/O (University of Arkansas Press, 2021). Her work is also published in Poetry Magazine, Poetry Daily, Salamander Magazine, The Rumpus, Puerto del Sol, sixth finch, cream city review, DIAGRAM, and Best New Poets. She has a PhD in poetry from the University of Cincinnati and is an Assistant Professor at Lakeland University.