The aim of this workshop will be to reinvigorate the very foundations of our poetic voice, in tone, form and language—to the best of our abilities. Together we will challenge our ideas of the self and speaker in the poem, opening up new possibilities in our practice. We will look candidly at the so-called autobiographical in poetry, and how playfulness, imagination, dreaming, myth-making and world-building create a closer relation to the truth of our experience than “sticking to the facts” does. Each class will be a workshop discussion of one another’s poems. We’ll look for the most powerful lines to enhance, and where we’re fumbling and weakening. We will read supplementary handout materials between classes and examples of poets whose work inspires and guides us as writers. This will be a challenging but supporting workshop.