Join The Poetry Society of New York for a limited-capacity, six-week poetry workshop.

Workshop Overview:

Join us for A Formal Feeling Comes, a six-week poetry workshop led by Sebastian Merrill, where we’ll dive deep into the world of poetic forms. Running from September 11th to October 23rd (with a break on October 16th), this workshop meets every Wednesday from 6:30-8:30 PM EST, offering a unique opportunity to explore how structured forms can actually unlock creativity rather than constrain it.

In this workshop, we’ll explore how formal constraints can serve as vessels for evoking deep emotional experiences and uncovering new meanings in your poetry. Each week, we’ll focus on a different poetic form—from sonnets to villanelles, ghazals to pantoums, and even innovative forms like The Golden Shovel and Duplex. Through a combination of discussions on published works, generative writing assignments, and collaborative workshops, you’ll be encouraged to both work within and push against these traditional structures.

What to Expect:In-Depth Discussions: Each session begins with a focused discussion on a specific poetic form, complemented by an analysis of published poems that exemplify or subvert the form’s conventions.Generative Assignments: Every week, you’ll receive a writing prompt related to the form discussed, encouraging you to create new work between sessions.Collaborative Workshopping: We’ll spend significant time in peer review, where you’ll submit one poem each week for group feedback. This supportive environment will help you refine your craft and expand your poetic repertoire.

Workshop Breakdown:Week 1: September 11th - Introduction to Form & The SonnetWeek 2: September 18th - VillanelleWeek 3: September 25th - GhazalWeek 4: October 2nd - PantoumWeek 5: October 9th - AbecedarianWeek 6: October 23rd - The Golden Shovel, The Duplex, & Creating Your Own Forms

Important Dates:Workshop Dates: September 11th, 18th, 25th, October 2nd, 9th, and 23rdTime: 6:30-8:30 PM ESTLocation: Zoom

About the Instructor:

Sebastian Merrill’s (he/him) debut collection GHOST :: SEEDS won the 2022 X. J. Kennedy Poetry Prize (Texas Review Press, 2023). Merrill won the 2022 Levis Prize for Poetry, received the Rodney Jack Scholarship from Friends of Writers, and was a member of the 2023 Get the Word Out inaugural poetry cohort. He was a staff-scholar for the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference in 2022 and 2023 and was a summer 2023 Warren Wilson MFA Alumni Residency Fellow. Merrill has also received support from Tin House Workshop and the Juniper Summer Writing Institute. He earned an MFA in poetry from Warren Wilson College and a BA from Wellesley College.

Join Us:

Embark on this journey to deepen your understanding of poetic forms and expand your creative horizons. Whether you're a seasoned poet or new to structured poetry, A Formal Feeling Comes offers a welcoming space to explore, experiment, and evolve your writing.