news about read write poem critique groups (that everyone should read)

by Deb Scott

The Read Write Poem directors (Dana, Andre, Nathan and me — Deb) have been working behind the scenes to improve how stuff at Read Write Poem functions. (There is always room for improvement, right?) We have a big list of things we want to fiddle with, so we have set priorities for how important the task or issue is and then one, or a few of us, volunteer to work on it. We choose what we are involved in on a do-ocratic basis (so we do the things that interest us), but also in collaboration (so we have a variety of opinions and outlooks to inform how stuff ought best be done and have a broad rather than myopic vision).

I took on one of the priority changes: improving the workshop groups. This note is a rollout of those changes and some of the thoughts behind them.

Our goals were to create a vibrant workshop community, and to that end we wanted to:

1. remove the Poetry Sharing group from the lineup (because people can share their work on their own wires or every week in the Get Your Poem On post — it doesn’t have to be an “on prompt” poem).
2. clarify what level of critique and workshop experience is appropriate for the different groups (to make it easier for people to find the right place).
3. post concrete guidelines (so poets know what they should be doing in their groups, and how often).

I spent some time looking at other online workshop communities and considered my own “in real life” and online workshop experiences. I distilled the best of them into new guidelines, integrating previous ideas that were still valuable. Dana created a handy new flowchart that helps people “see” their own experience easily and choose their group. All the directors read through multiple drafts and helped improve the ideas.

There is a new tab on the navigation bar just for the workshops now. Under that heading, you’ll find everything you need to know, and you don’t need to be a member of a workshop group (or of Read Write Poem for that matter) in order to read the guidelines. Here are the pages:

Changes to Workshop Groups is the overview of what the changes are and why we made them.

Workshop Group Requirements discusses each group in detail and will help you determine where you should be.

How to Workshop (a Primer) is just what it says — a handy guide that is required reading if you are a workshop group member here but is helpful for any workshop environment you find yourself in.

Workshop Group General Guidelines is also required reading for workshop members (and good general advice). It tells you how to label your posts and reminds you to have fun. And other good stuff.

We’ll be migrating members from the existing groups into new ones in the next week. Read Changes to Workshop Groups for details on how we are reassigning group members and how to change the group you are in if you so desire. (This part is the hardest — we don’t like just “moving people,” but it’s the only way to make this big change.) The directors will also be checking in with the newly formed groups to see how things are going on a weekly basis.

We hope these changes improve the workshop experience. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them as comments on this post. You can also send me (or any other director) an email using the address info (at) readwritepoem (dot) org. Please include the word “workshop” in the subject line.

Deb Scott is community and news director for Read Write Poem. She is also co-managing the Read Write Poem Virtual Book Tour. In her other life she plays with words, her pets, bugs and her husband, in a random but rotating order. She blogs at Stoney Moss.