Poetry is enigmatic, mercurial, lush, and profound. It is avant-garde, political, bold, and equally quiet. These are some of the reasons that often, poetry is both immensely appealing and yet, can feel intimidating, both to read and write. In this course we will look at several varieties of poems and read them closely, trying to get at the meaning they want to convey, and the meaning that we draw from them. We will also study form, structure, and other traditional and untraditional tenets of poetry. Students will also write their own original work and submit them to our workshops.