In this course we will look at the work of writers who skillfully juxtapose the public with the private in their poetry. We will pay special attention to identifying techniques that we can replicate and discussing strategies that make it feel natural to combine the public and private in poetry. We’ll look at poems by T. R. Hummer, Lucille Clifton, June Jordan, Ellen Bryan Voigt, Yusef Komumyakaa, and work that students bring in by poets they admire. Using prompts, brainstorming, freewriting, and revision of poems you’ve already started, we’ll work together to find ways to juxtapose the public and private worlds in your poems to add texture, structure, and complexity to your work.