MFA Student Reflections on the 2022 Sanders Workshop

 Paisley's workshop showed the science of poetics in a way that is usually unachievable outside of a Ph.D. The schooling in the traditions of poetry, which is generally either taught in an inaccessible fashion or understated in favor of more contemporary work, began to make sense.  It was a week where we got to see where we fit, not only in our own community but in the canon of poetry more broadly." -Duncan Tierney 

The Sanders workshop with Paisley Rekdal was a great experience. We learned poetry craft techniques and received valuable workshop comments on our own poetry projects. This workshop was different from the traditional workshop experience because we only met for two hours for five days, but we covered about half a semester's content in that time. It was also different because we broke down poetry into its fundamental components and learned what makes different types of poems work. The poems we studied helped us analyze our own poems and the vocabulary we learned also helped us put to words what we were struggling with. This workshop gave us whirlwind lectures that quickly turned into deep conversations about the successfulness of concise language. -Sierra Yetka 

The Sanders workshop with Paisley Rekdal was a new learning experience for me. As a poet, I learned a new way to read and understand poetry. Every decision we make as writers has a purpose and demands something from our readers. Professor Rekdal introduced us to poets such as Jay Wright, Randall Jarrell, and Tarfia Faizullah which made us understand the utilization of parataxis, hypotaxis, and deixis. This is significant because it sorta discipline/guide us when writing our drafts; who's speaking? What's being addressed? Who are the they speaking to? These are questions we have to consider. Overall, the workshop was very insightful and helpful, I appreciated how we were able to use these techniques to give feedback on our peers' own work.  Professor Rekdal is a great teacher, and a lot of what she teaches is reflected in her own work. -Shaya Israel 

Duncan Tierney (6'6'') is a third-year MFA student at Florida Atlantic University, specializing in creative fiction. Duncan writes and teaches in southern Florida. He's been published in Caustic Frolic Journal and South Florida Poetry Journal. 

Sierra Yetka is a first-year MFA student at Florida Atlantic University, specializing in creative nonfiction. She's a graduate teaching assistant and writing consultant at the University Center for Excellence in Writing. Sierra aspires to publish a manuscript about the realities of growing up as a cross-culturally adopted child. 

Shaya Israel is a first-year MFA student at Florida Atlantic University, specializing in poetry. She's a graduate teaching assistant and MFA research assistant.