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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Sharpened Visions: A Poetry Workshop by California Institute of the Arts

4.8
stars
1,707 ratings

About the Course

Why just write poems when you can write better ones? This course is built on the notion that the most exciting writing begins after the first draft. It is specifically for folks who believe that writing poems just to express oneself is like using the Internet just for email. After all, poetry can change the way you and your readers think of the world and its inhabitants; it can break new ground for language; turn a blank sheet of paper into a teeming concert of voices and music. Though any of us may have the potential to make that happen, having an understanding of how several tools of poetic composition can be used (and audaciously “mis-used”) gives you more ways to try (and if we do this right, we might surprise ourselves most of all). We'll cover key poetic terms and devices by studying poems by a handful of modern and contemporary poets and then get a chance to try our own hand at writing new poem drafts from a select number of prompts. Throughout the course you will have the opportunity to workshop your poem drafts and get feedback on your work, working towards a more polished poem....

Top reviews

ES

May 4, 2022

The professor and tasks were very engaging. I truly looked forward to tuning in and working through the lessons and assignments. My interest in poetry is further stoked and I can't wait to learn more.

SM

Jun 11, 2020

Loved the course. Douglas Kearney is amazing as an instructor. I love poetry and this workshop has made me happy during the times of COVID 19. I thank CalArts for the encouragement and appreciation.

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51 - 75 of 699 Reviews for Sharpened Visions: A Poetry Workshop

By Valerie F

Aug 23, 2020

I loved this course. I've been wanting to learn about how to write poetry and I thought a college course would be too much and overwhelming to take on, but this professor made the subject very accessible and even after the first lesson I learned something that I could apply. I think my poetry writing has improved from this course. The professor is also very entertaining and highly engaging during his videos. It is obvious that he is passionate about the subject and prepares for the videos.

By Liz B

Apr 29, 2020

What an ENGAGING class. Doug (Dr. Kearney) was fun, and managed to not only get the basics of poetry well defined in short periods of time, but also brought in more complicated assignments that pushed me as a writer to another level. He also prioritized poets of color, which I appreciated. I know my poetry will grow and develop because of this class. I also looked up the writer's poetry - I'm fascinated by his form. Poetry experimentation to the next level. I'm going to dive further into this.

By 43-Vani K R

Apr 23, 2021

I loved this! It was such a beautiful course, the structure and the weekly lessons were awesome. What attracted me was the teaching style of Sir Doug. He was funny when needed and attentive while reading poems. I always wanted to attend poetry classes where we would analyse the poems and this class was so effective. I was very much excited for the lessons and completed the course in less than 12 days and learned a lot. This is what learning with joy looks like. Loved the course!

By Anne M

Sep 6, 2018

I see in some reviews that people find Mr Kearney's dramatics a bit annoying... I do concur with that in some ways, the pretend avoidance of words coming in, the vocal intonations, and playing around... but I also think that his way of teaching is engaging, rich and effective. I have learned things without effort because the examples were well chosen and well analysed and I have added a few new tools to my poetry toolbox. I’m happy with that return on my time on a free course.

By Roxanne C

Feb 1, 2021

hi there, was interesting and nice to be able to put some poetry down for people to see . also seeing how much talent people and lecturers possess.thankyou for that and showing us how to narrow our poetry and for us to really look at it properly and by doing that look at our selves inside more deeply. reallyto good. it gives us a sense of confidence and a sense of belonging and warmth in these trying times. so thankyou to the lecturer god bless and hope for another session

By Nidhi V

Sep 29, 2021

Being a writer who wrote as a hobby it is wonderful to learn so many new things about poetry that I couldn't have learned by myself sitting and writing what I was always writing. Learning about revision was a great experience but the best experience was the peer review . It is because of those peer reviews that I could improve and improvise on writing . A big thanks to calarts and coursera and very big thanks to Douglas Kearney sir for giving his time for this course.

By T & M K

Mar 29, 2021

Great instructions. Very interesting method(s) of learning. Reviewing peers assignment was quite hard at first but was in itself a good learning experience.

Loved the entire course. Hope you have a follow up course. Appreciated the humours approach by the Prof.

Only thing I found that could change or improve is the posting poems or questions for discussion where exactly we post them. Instructions to that would have been helpful,

All in all great course. Thank you

By Suzanne M

Oct 13, 2022

This course was fabulous. The professor was engaging, the exercises helpful, the quizzes relevant to the topics covered, and the enthusiasm of the participants contagious. I will keep using the prompts and techniques I learned in this course in the future. If Douglas Kearney comes out with additional courses on writing and revising, I will sign up for those as well. This course was thoughtfully planned, and I now have additional resources to use as a poet.

By Carolyn S

Sep 5, 2021

This course has broad appeal for both beginners and those wanted to jump back into a creative process after a block or the damn pandemic and its many obstacles to creative relaxation. I applaud the professor's ability to be both fun and also academic, depending on what he wants to talk about and how he approaches it. Great diversity in the works he chose to parse. All in all I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would and it broke a three year block for me.

By Michael R

Feb 21, 2022

This was an excellent course. It taught me quite a bit and made me understand more clearly stuff I peviously learnt. Doug was a wonderful facilitator and lecturer -- equally inspiring, amusing, informative and enthusiastic. The course took me into deeper areas of the craft that I had expected to go on such a short course. It is worthy of being a major course in a degree programme. Thanks to all concerned for designing this challenging, yet enjoyable, course.

By Nicole M

Apr 6, 2021

This course introduced me to a few aspects of poetry I was not familiar with. It also has inspired me to continue the pursuit of writing poetry. I find that I have one main style of writing poetry, but sometimes I drift to others. This course helped me to know that is perfectly fine to do so. I do not have a lot of time to go off on discussion boards so I am grateful that wasn't a big requirement. I did enjoy the interaction of peer review on submitted works.

By Aayushi B

Sep 29, 2021

Excellent course! Douglas Kearney is an impressive teacher. His style is informative and engaging. The material provided and poems included are also beautiful. The peer reviews were one of my favorite parts, as I got to interact with fellow poets- novices and professionals. This course opened up a whole new world of poetry for me; now I've decided to do more than just a rough, first draft! A big 'thank you' to Mr. Kearney, the moderators and fellow poets.

By Geoffrey G

May 5, 2020

I am but four weeks into this course and I love it, What appears to be simple guidance turns out to be quite powerful, and the Professor is excellent in general, and very, very good with this medium. The prompts are fabulous and surprising - not just simple phrases, but based in building capabilities with poetic forms. Even metaphors and similes, for example, mean more in the context he creates for the learner. I will revisit this review when I am done.

By Kelli L R

Apr 26, 2021

Especially enjoyed the part that stressed revision, in which Mr. Kearney talked about the importance of letting the poem take you where it wants to go and the value of freeing yourself from the constraints of where you think the poem should go. He also gave some techniques for listening to and looking at where your poem is heading.

I enjoyed the readings as well, especially the poem by Harryette Mullen. The prompts were helpful in backup up the lessons.

By Patrick C

Jan 3, 2019

Great experience. The course was very well done from a technical and systems perspective. The online experience and tools worked really well, easy to understand and use. The instructions for using the tools were clear, especially the workshop and assignments portion. The instructor, Doug Kearney, was effective, funny and very on-point. Overall, five starts. I look forward to doing another one. Oh yeah, my poetry improved as a result!

By MUNIRA

Jul 20, 2021

It was an incredibly insightful experience. I have been writing poems for as long as I can remember, but through this workshop, I learned about the intricacies of poetry in-depth. I stepped out of my comfort zone and wrote in styles I had never explored before. A big thank you to Douglas Kearney for this course and his creative and engaging teaching style. I can't wait to use the learnings from this course to enhance my work going forward.

By Matthew Y

May 27, 2020

As someone who is has no experience in creative writing classes, this course was an excellent introduction to writing poetry. While it was accessible to a beginner, I could see more advanced students of poetry being able to benefit from the course as well. This is because the prompts and assignments allow you to work at your own levels of experience and are very user friendly in that regard. I could not recommend this course highly enough!

By Ana P K C F

Dec 19, 2019

This has been one of my favorite courses so far. Douglas Kearney is such an amazing professor. He explains the subjects in a fun but yet deep way. It has been an honor to get to now more about poetry alongside his teachings, the works of the amazing American writers mentioned in this course and, of course, through my colleagues' works. I hope I can join future courses taught by Mr. Kearney, online or better yet in person at CalArts.

By Anna M

Mar 14, 2016

This is a great course with lots of information about the tools you need when crafting great poetry. I love the weekly writing prompts; they were very helpful in getting me back into the rhythm of writing. The discussion board was also a nice play to hang out and exchange thoughts about poetry and to give and receive critique from my peers. I recommend this course to anyone, at any level, who is interested in writing poetry.

By Sarah T

Jul 24, 2020

This instructor really brought his A game when it came to being engaging in the video segments. I usually get bored with the video modules in these course, but not here! The assignments were fun and inspiring. Sharpened Visions is an outstanding "get your feet wet" opportunity for those who consider themselves non-writers (like me) and I would imagine to be a useful exercise for actual writers of all stripes -- poets or not.

By Marissa C

Aug 17, 2017

This professor is very lively and makes the learning entertaining. I can understand vocabulary words much easier the way Mr. Kearney presents them. Thus far, his writing prompts have been quite unique and very fun to do. This is a challenge for me personally as I am not well-versed in writing or understanding poetry but I have a great feeling I will have a much better grasp of it by the time I fully complete the course.

By Madhuri Y

Jan 22, 2024

The workshop was an eye-opener for me on the themes of abstraction and rhyme-rhythm. Although I knew a bit about rhymes, I learned more about them in the workshop. Equally important, I learned some great tips about how to revise. It's been a great learning. Plus, hugely entertaining. Never a slow moment in the videos :) I'll keep referring to the videos and notes and try out the different things the workshop shares.

By Diane V

Jul 21, 2016

I really loved this course! I have always loved reading poetry and have tried my hand at it periodically over many years. I learned a lot , wrote some poems that I like, and most of all enjoyed the teacher so very much. He made it so much fun, that I found myself laughing out loud several times. The workshop idea was also good, and I learned from reading the others' poems. Thank you for this course. !

By David P

Jun 14, 2022

This course simply Hit The Spot! Thank you. It was extremely well presented. Entertaining and informative. For me, it struck the right balance in terms of the amount of content. It was well structured and in appropriate bite-sized sessions. I found the process reinforcing and positive. It left me wanting more - and this is a compliment, not a criticism. The course will urge me to continue and to progress.

By Ma. E Y

Mar 27, 2024

It's a good course. However, there are some learners who do not take the workshops seriously. Some learners would submit screenshots of published poems or random images. I enjoyed reading the works of other learners and the works of poets mentioned in the lessons. The course has helped me improve the metrical form of my poems. The course includes references that learners can use for additional studying.