SM
Jun 12, 2020
Loved the course. Douglas Kearney is amazing as an instructor. I love poetry and this workshop has made me happy during the times of COVID 19. I thank CalArts for the encouragement and appreciation.
CN
May 23, 2024
Very personable instructor with quality content and a workshop system that works well even if you never get to actually meet your fellow poets. I was very impressed and got a lot out of this course.
By Scott D
•Nov 22, 2016
Doug's lectures were great! He's entertaining and he gets the concepts across very clearly. I struggled with the course itself, however. The participation rate was low and the iOS app was so buggy I deleted it. The web interface was better but still difficult to work with.
The iOS app would forget I was in the course and lose my assignments. It also wouldn't let me open the discussion forums. With the technical problems and low participation I can only give the course 3/5.
By Victoria B
•Jul 6, 2019
I think this course is good if you're just starting out and want to know the basics. But it's not a great course for more advanced students. The peer graded assignments are a gamble because some people fail to understand what the assignment actually is before they try to grade your assignment. Also, I don't like how certain sections are heavily focused on rhythm and rhyme. This course isn't really geared toward free verse poets.
By Elizabeth D
•Aug 1, 2016
The annotations of the different poems were great and taught me a lot about different poetic elements, but the lectures were unbearably corny with all of the different sound effects and bits. I found myself reading the transcripts because I could not watch the videos without feeling like I was being talked down to or that the instructor didn't take the course seriously.
By Emily A
•Aug 27, 2024
The course itself is very good but the peer review process for your grade is a bit lackluster. If you have a peer who doesn't actually feel like trying or doesn't understand the material then your grade suffers despite what the other reviewers provided.
By Samantha A
•Sep 9, 2015
Not as much creative flexibility as I thought there would be. Writing to prompts left very little room to create poetry that felt like my own. Good short course (knocked it out in a couple of days) for revising/learning techniques.
By Stefan W
•Sep 6, 2020
This course seems to be aimed at absolute beginners. If you don't know what a rhyme is, this "workshop" is definitively worth your time. Else, there may be better investments.
By Hari K D V
•Oct 28, 2017
there's got to be more poems, more reviews. 1 poem to be reviewed makes the brilliant course flippant
By Jennifer F
•Sep 5, 2020
ok. some tools are missing, like a resource page referred to by the instructor.
By Liz A
•May 21, 2018
A stimulating course. Great online interaction with tutors. Some great links.
By Priyanka D
•Jul 5, 2021
Learnt a lot about writing poetry. Realised there's still a lot yet to learn
By Garrison C G
•Sep 1, 2017
The course could have used more content. That is, it is too brief.
By Tonya
•Sep 21, 2015
Elementary and entertaining with some unique and creative prompts.
By Lama B
•May 7, 2020
It was a great course, however it was very short and brief.
By Jessica T
•Feb 17, 2025
Several links and resources are unavailable when you follow links, which, if paying for the course especially, is unacceptable. I would also argue that this is not a beginner course, some knowledge of poetry is very helpful.
By R.B. W
•Jan 18, 2024
The instructor is animated and great, but the grading process is flawed and sucks.
By Michael N
•Jun 11, 2020
While the material has been interesting, I paid to take this course in large part for what I assumed would be helpful feedback and critique, to help me improve. I submitted my first peer assignment 6 days ago, and I've not received even one critique/feedback. If things change as I continue this course, I'll revise my rating. But at the moment, I'm not satisfied in the least. If none of my fellow students reviews my work, how about one of the staff mentors? Hello? Is anyone even out there?
By Ava C
•Jan 7, 2024
This guy blew up my earphones because he randomly starts shouting?? Also the things he teaches are so elementary. Very boring, learnt nothing.
By David M C
•Apr 18, 2021
Decided I wasn't interested so tried to unenroll but can't.
By Ali M
•Dec 11, 2022
Waste of time. Bad curriculum. Unprofessional instructor.