Prose Poetry & Flash FictionInstructor: Gabriella Fee, A&S, '22 (MFA)August 25 - September 29 (6 Sessions)Tuesdays, 10:00AM - 12:00PM ETVirtual va Zoom
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Course Description: In this class, we'll play at the boundary of poetry and prose. We'll think about what constitutes a poem in the absence of its most recognizable feature: the line, and what constitutes a short story where narrative meets intense compression. Through close reading and weekly writing exercises, we'll explore questions of craft that are central to writing well across genre: how do you create, maintain, and diffuse moments of lyric intensity? How do you channel energy efficiently toward the heart of a story? How do you make use of the sentence as a unit of music and meaning?
We'll read authors including Claudia Rankine, Gunnhild Øyehaug, Victoria Chang, Russell Edson, Lydia Davis, and Diane Williams. Together, we'll discuss how they handle image, syntax, rhythm, narrative, and closure. Over six weeks together, you'll draft and workshop your own pieces, with an emphasize on process rather than polish or perfection. No prior writing experience required—just curiosity about the expansive possibilities of brevity!
Explore the full Fall 2026 Odyssey catalog and discover engaging courses taught by Johns Hopkins alumni, faculty and community experts.
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Gabriella Fee is a poet and translator based in Baltimore. Her poems appear in The Best American Poetry 2024, The Common, Michigan Quarterly Review, Washington Square Review, Salt Hill, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA from the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University, and has received fellowships from Yaddo, The Vermont Studio Center, and the Fulbright Foundation. She is the inaugural Moser Family Writer-in-Residence in the Odyssey Program of Johns Hopkins University.
Event DateStarts: Tuesday, August 25, 202610:00am EDTEnds: Tuesday, September 29, 202612:00pm EDT
ContactOdysseyAlumni Relations Lifelong Learning800-JHU-JHU1 (548-5481)odyssey@jhu.edu
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