ONLINE CLASS | AN MFA ALTERNATIVE TAUGHT BY ARIANA BROWN
Poetry Manuscripts 101
Learn the foundational techniques you'll need to write a dynamic poetry book. Ideal for poets interested in putting together a full-length poetry collection.
Course dates: April 17 - June 1 (6 weeks)
Meeting times: Thursdays 7pm-8:30pm + Sundays 1pm-3pm CST
Cost: $350
REGISTER →The best way to learn how to create your own manuscript is to study what others have done.
That's why I've designed a study-focused class to teach you how to analyze successful poetry books and replicate their strategies. If you've ever wondered how poets choose the order of their poems, weave research and emotion into their storytelling, or build an overall narrative with their work, this class is for you.
In Poetry Manuscripts 101, we'll study one fantastic poetry book from cover to cover, taking time to understand the complexities behind each creative choice and what they mean for the collection as a whole. You'll have the chance to ask as many questions as you can to understand the art of developing a poetry book.
You'll also receive prompts, fillable worksheets, time to write, lecture recordings, and a supportive community of poets to learn how to apply the strategies you've learned to your own work.
Poetry Manuscripts 101
Poetry Manuscripts 101 is a supportive 6-week virtual class designed to help you understand how to put together a dynamic poetry manuscript. Building on Afrofuturism and Black women's poetics, Ariana's teaching incorporates historical awareness and collaborative approaches to meaning making. We will study the poetry collection america, MINE by Sasha Banks (a book which imagines the collapse of the USA through an Afrofuturist lens and the freedom, peace, and security that arises in its aftermath) as our core text in this class. All students receive a free physical copy. This is a study-focused class with homework, writing prompts, lectures, and small group discussions. Open to writers ages 18+.
Class dates: April 17, 20, 24, 27, May 1, 4, 15, 18, 22, 25, 29 and June 1. Class meets every Thursday and Sunday from April 17 to June 1 EXCEPT the week of Mother's Day.
Cost: $350
REGISTER →Class Outline:
- Week 1: Manuscript Foundations - Class agreements, geting to know each other's projects, and dive into the course text with a lecture from Ariana on Afrofuturism, theses for poetry books, and planning.
- Week 2: The First Few Pages - How the first pages of a collection set the stage for the narrative to follow.
- Week 3: Building Momentum - How to use narrative voice, emotion, pacing, and other storytelling techniques to build momentum leading to the climax of the book.
- Week 4: Endings + Bird's Eye View - Analysis of the final section of the course text and the collection as a whole with regard to ordering, narrative arc, and tonal shifts.
- Week 5: Beyond the Manuscript - A review of projects beyond your manuscript and how to conceptualize them.
- Week 6: Manuscript Q&A + Open Mic - Open forum for manuscript troubleshooting. Bring questions so we can brainstorm solutions!
Who should take this class?
- Poets interested in a low-cost alternative to an MFA program
- Poets who feel excluded from traditional literary spaces, including poets who haven't been published
- Poets with practical questions about the logistics of putting together a manuscript
- Poets who are interested in one day creating a poetry manuscript but haven't written many poems
- Poets who have written lots of poems and aren't sure what to do with them
- Poets who want to deepen their understanding of the genre and its possibilities
This class is not suited for...
- Poets desiring in-depth feedback on their manuscripts
- Writers who are not poets
- Anyone not interested in studying and/or completing homework for this class
What you get in this class
RECORDINGS
Video recordings of all lectures that are yours to rewatch for up to 30 days following the final class day PLUS forever access to lecture slides.
FREE COPY OF COURSE TEXT
Physical copy of america, MINE by Sasha Banks mailed directly to you that is yours to keep!
COMMUNITY
Access to class online community forum where you can brainstorm, discuss, and get to know your classmates and their projects.
PROMPTS + WORKSHEETS
Fillable Manuscript Plan and Annotation Guide for you to download, plus 15 detailed prompts to jumpstart your manuscript writing.
$350
LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE
Ariana's class was well planned and executed.
"The text we read was a perfect fit for the subject and while it provided space for us to connect with the work on an emotional and political level, it also provided a rich source to talk about form and technique. I learned a lot from this class and will definitely be back for more."
– JORDYN M., FORMER STUDENT
Accessibility and System Requirements
- You will need a laptop with Internet to access course material and live class meetings. It is highly recommended for students to use headphones when attending classes for best audio quality.
- Class meetings take place on Zoom. Please make sure you have downloaded the latest version of Zoom prior to the first class session.
- Automated captions generated by Zoom are available for all class meetings.
- All Thursday lecture classes will be recorded and made available to students for 30 days following the final class session. Students will receive forever access to the class syllabus, prompts, exercises, and lecture slides.
- All of Ariana Brown's classes have a strict anti-harassment policy. Students who cause harm (such as racism, transphobia, homophobia, misogyny, etc.) to other students, the instructor, or the learning environment may be removed from the class without a refund.
- This class has homework! You will get the most out of this class by participating and keeping up with the homework load (estimated 2 hours of homework per week).
- Access Limitations: Ariana cannot currently offer free tuition, scholarships, ASL interpretation, CART captions, 1-on-1 classes, or multilingual translation services. Ariana cannot guarantee extremely high audio quality without disturbances, slow speaking, or 24/7 email responses due to her own access needs and budget limitations.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Ariana Brown
Writer, Teacher & Librarian
Ariana Brown is a queer Black Mexican American poet from San Antonio, TX, now based in Houston. She is the author of the poetry collections We Are Owed. (Grieveland, 2021) and Sana Sana (Game Over Books, 2020). Her academic and poetic works explore queerness, Black personhood in Mexican American spaces, girlhood, loneliness, and care. Ariana is a national collegiate poetry slam champion, winner of two Academy of American Poets Prizes, and a recipient of a National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures Grant.
She holds a BA in African Diaspora Studies and Mexican American Studies from UT Austin, an MFA in Poetry from the University of Pittsburgh, and an MS in Library and Information Science from the University of North Texas. She currently develops ethnic studies and ELA curriculum for high schools and colleges and teaches creative writing to teens in Houston. Ariana has been writing, performing, and teaching for over a decade.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Something still holding you back?
If you still have questions about whether this class is the right fit for you after reading the FAQ below, please email Ariana at [email protected].
