Do you remember clapping out the syllables of your name in first grade? Pure syllabic poetry is common in languages like Japanese but rarer in English, which counts both syllables and stresses. Starting with haikus, we will try our hands at writing tankas, nonets, roundels, cinquains, and diamantes. And as we go along, we’ll applaud each other’s syllabic creations and explore how poets like Yeats, Thomas and Plath used the syllabic form. 

Susan Roney-O’Brien earned her MFA at Warren Wilson College and is the author of five poetry collections. She hosts monthly poetry readings, teaches workshops and coordinates the Stanley Kunitz summer writing series.