Wordstruck Summer Intensive 2024
July 15–July 26
DEEP DIVE
In the Summer Intensive, students take a two-week deep dive into the art of poetry and prose. Wordstruck students work under the mentorship of accomplished authors who have all taught at the college level, and alongside like-minded souls with whom they forge friendships.
DIFFERENT
What sets the Wordstruck Summer Intensive apart?
Its teachers, special events, and sense of community.
In addition to their daily workshops, Wordstruck students experience readings and generative writing sessions led by respected visiting authors.
Students will also have chances to present in open mics, to participate in a final reading, and to have their work collected in a professionally-designed virtual anthology. Opportunities for student “hangouts” outside of scheduled classes and events will also be made available.
ENGAGING
Summer students participate in two daily writing workshops—one in poetry and one in prose.
Here, they read and discuss published work, generate new material, and receive feedback on their own writing.
Students also meet with their instructors for two one-on-one conferences, where they receive even more individualized feedback.
These instructors are all published and award-winning authors with at least one book. All are experienced teaching in online formats and especially invested in guiding young writers in their craft.
OBJECTIVES
At the end of the two-week Summer Intensive, Wordstruck students will:
have a fuller understanding of various schools and styles of poetry and prose;
have acquired the language to think more deeply about poetry and prose;
have practiced many new techniques for effectively writing and revising their own work;
be equipped to more conscientiously discuss poetry and prose, and to offer their peers thoughtful and constructive critique;
have compiled a substantial personal portfolio of creative writing for future use, such as for college applications;
have made contacts—both personal and professional—along their writerly journeys; and
have their passion for creative writing solidified and magnified.
Summer 2024 Intensive Schedule
Prose Workshop
In this course, writers work intensively to create compelling prose through study, critique, and experimentation. We read and discuss age-appropriate stories by published authors and complete daily generative writing exercises geared toward specific craft topics such as point of view, tone, character, and temporality. Each student will have at least one story workshop, in which they receive creative and constructive feedback on their own writing from their peers and instructor. The objective of this story workshop is to generate enthusiasm for narrative possibilities in revision. Through the exchange of work and ideas, as well as shared creative risk-taking, our learning environment becomes a supportive community of writers.
Poetry Workshop
In this course, writers work intensively on creating compelling poetry through study, critique, and experimentation. We read and discuss age-appropriate poems by published authors in order to deepen our understanding of what makes a poem meaningful and impactful. We complete daily generative exercises geared toward specific craft topics such as diction and syntax, metaphor, tone, and the poetic line. Each student will have at least two poem workshops, in which they receive creative and constructive critique on their own writing. The objective of this poetry workshop is to learn the fundamentals of poetry at the same time that we experiment, play, and—best of all—challenge what can be done with language.
From July 15 to July 26, 2024, students attend Wordstruck workshops and events Monday through Friday, 11 am to 5:30 pm EDT.
A standard day looks like this:
11 am–12:30 pm EDT: Poetry Workshop with Stacy Gnall, PhD
12:30–2:00 pm EDT: Break for lunch
2:00–3:30 pm EDT: Prose Workshop with Sarah McColl, MFA
3:30–4:30 pm EDT: Break for instructor conferences and/or solo writing time
4:30–5:30 pm EDT: Special event, usually led by one of our Visiting Writers
More details on the Summer 2024 schedule forthcoming. Click here to view our Summer 2022 schedule and Summer 2022 student anthology.
It’s all smiles after Simone Muench wows us with her poetry and writing advice.