The Massachusetts Poetry Festival 2016

“Love is not all…” writes Millay in one of her best-known sonnets. Six lines later, starting with the word Yet, she begins a damning rebuttal in defense of love. How do you create that turn, the volta as it is called in the sonnet, the fulcrum on which a poem is balanced? How does the turn work to give both formal and free verse poetry tension and conflict? How can you use it to give an out-for-a-stroll poem the energy of an Olympic wrestling match? In this workshop we will examine the turn: how poets create and use it; where to place it; and how to set it up. We will look at the work of a small, but diverse group of poets. Then—it’s your turn! In an exercise that will put a swerve in your verse, you’ll practice writing your own turns.