“Shut Up and Kiss Me”: The Art of the Short Poem with Kim Addonizio (via Zoom)

Freeing the Angel of Precise, Concise, Powerful, Distilled-Down-to-Its-Essence Poetry from the Marble of Floridity, Flummery, and Furbelows,” or “Shut Up and Kiss Me”: The Art of the Short Poem

How short can a poem be? Lucille Clifton said that the shortest poem is the Bible’s Jesus wept. One-liners, two-liners, haiku, and slightly longer poems–say, just shy of sonnet-length –What do they have in common? Concision. Intensity. Illumination. Short poems often suggest more than they say; each can be a little starburst that flames out, leaving a wake of emotion or insight in the reader. In this craft class, in which I’ll also invite you to do some writing, we’ll look at a few short pieces to see how they accomplish their effects, and aim for some effects of our own.

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Kim Addonizio’s latest poetry collections are Exit Opera (W.W, Norton, 2024) and Now…