Join us for the second installment of our Considering Craft Series with poet Toby Altman.
Toby will introduce poets to the sestina, which is one of the oldest and strangest poetic forms. You know you're in a sestina when you notice that a poet is repeating the same words over and over, obsessively, churning in place. From Arnaut Daniel in the 12th century to Elizabeth Bishop in the 20th, poets have turned to the form. Why do they do so? What do they get out of it? And what can you learn from the sestina? This workshop will pose that question, introducing you to the sestina, showing you what it can do for you as a writer—and teaching you how you might break or transform it to suit your purposes. No prior knowledge necessary—just bring a pen and a notebook and a willingness to get your hands (poetically) dirty.
Meet Toby Altman,
Toby Altman is the author of Jewel Box (Essay Press, 2026), Discipline Park (Wendy’s Subway, 2023), and Arcadia, Indiana (Plays Inverse, 2017). He has held fellowships from the Graham Foundation, MacDowell, and the National Endowment for the Arts. He is currently Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, where he also serves as Director of the RCAH Center for Poetry.