It's really a great course for anybody who wants to get started in poetry. And even for people who have experience writing poems, Douglas' videos are fun and many concepts are explained well. Also, there are good resources and the peer revision system is key to know things about the writers' poems they may not have discovered.

I am just over half way though this course and it is amazing. The content is great. Doug's video lectures are enjoyable, enthralling and thought provoking. I continue to amaze myself as to what i do and don't know.

I am learning more than i anticipated with a short course. Keen to see where my new found knowledge leads me...

This was my first introduction to Coursera. The instructor, Douglas Kearney is interesting, inspiring and intelligent. His approach towards his passion for poetry is engaging and infectious with curiosity for his subject matter. Bravo!!! I more than highly recommend this course and wish there were many more offered by him.

I really enjoyed this course and it's due to the instructor, Douglas Kearney. I loved his teaching style. He always peppered his content with an affable off-beat style that made some of the more technical aspects of poetry a lot more palatable. I also appreciated the quality of the poems that we studied. Very enjoyable!

This course was very enjoyable! It made me love poetry even more. The prompts were interesting and I looked forward to them every week. As a shy person, I was a bit worried about the peer reviews, but everyone was friendly and helpful! The only thing I can think of to make it even better would be more course material! :)

I absolutely LOVED the course and the teacher. It really opened my eyes and sensibility, besides giving me lots of tolls I can use for a more aware composition proceess. Thank you very much! And thanks again to my mates, who really helped me finding the blind spots in my poems and finding better ways of finishing them!

Have been writing poetry for many years, This course has given me ways to see the poetry, examine it, improve it . . . truly sharpened my vision in the workshop. The course and the guide were technically sound with excellent communication, Thank you Douglas & CalArts.

Loved it. . . do go for it if you are still deciding.

At first I thought this course was going to be rather simplistic but it was anything but that. I loved the exercises we had to do. I really got into them and it was the first time I felt inspired to try my hand at writing poetry. The teaching was great--he has a great future ahead of him in entertainment I would say!

I would recommend this impeccable course to all those who aspire to write poetry and who are already great poets too! This course helped me to learn a lot of techniques and hacks to writing a good poem. Overall, I had a great experience writing for the weekly prompts and enjoyed the lecture videos a lot. Cheers!

T​his was an excellent course! I learned about new poetry forms that I had never heard of before and I had poetry techniques that I was using--but didn't know the names of--defined for me. The instructor brought so much fun and enthusiasm into the learning process. I would love to take a similar course again.

I learned a lot at a demanding level. I enjoyed, in particular, reviewing peers and getting feedback. It is very different from my old school days back in Germany. I will continue to write poems and now I have more tools in my tool-box from which to choose to make it happen -- with a vengeance.

Thanks!

Domingo

An entertaining and instructive course on the basics of poetry, with strong invitations for experimenting with different elements of writing poetry, relevant and current. As a former English teacher I highly recommend this for introduction, review, or refinement, to accompany a poetry unit ages 16 and up.

It may have felt daunting at first, but the comedic character of Douglas Kearney made it a fun experience. My advice would be to try and stay one step ahead, as poetry is one of those things where it is difficult to flick that inspirational switch, especially where a submission is looming over your head.

Doug is not only a teacher, but an actor! Wonderful videos. And poetry obliges a little poem to thank him!

Demanding, tricky poetry is many times.

Often we struggle, in rage, with rhythm, feet and rhymes.

Upraise your skills, your art within this course, you'll do

Gladly, gaily by virtue of a great guru!

Absolutely loved the course! I don't have any formal education in literature or poetry, and joined the course hoping to learn some basics of the art. I received much more than I'd expected. Professor Doug is an exceptional teacher, and I hope to use these new learnings in the poetry I write henceforth.

A very structured and comprehensive course covering the fundamentals of poetry. I would highly recommend this MOOC to anyone serious about writing poetry. A well designed syllabus taught by the Prof Douglas K in his inimitable style. The mentors are extremely helpful and the peer group is engaging.

I am presently taking this course for fun, I love writing, specially creating poetry. I find the instructor very engaging, interesting, and motivating. He also seems to know his subject very well. He makes the time I spend in class worthwhile. He is just plain fun! Love this class.

Julia

Boulder, CO

Instructor was great - knowledgeable, inspiring, made the work seem doable. I really appreciated his style of teaching. Of the three courses I was signed up for, this was the one I completed. Assignments were manageable., as was the format of the course. Thank you for offering this workshop!

T​his was a fantastic course. The instructor was so engaging and knowledgeable. He made this course so much fun too.

I learned so much in this course that was so different from other poetry courses I have taken

The exercises really helped me express myself and learn so much about writing a poem.

This is the second time I've done this workshop. I found new things to explore this second time around and will probably do it again in the future. The variety of prompts and fun instruction make it a go-to for poetry inspiration. It's a great experience that can be enjoyed again and again.

Doug was terrific and presented every week's information with clarity and humor. This was a fabulous course for me, as I try to build a poetry practice as it lays a solid foundation of ideas and techniques. I will likely revisit this course in the future to keep all of these concepts fresh.

This workshop is anything but boring. I had so much fun going through the videos, learning the basics, and workshopping my poems. I couldn't have asked for a greater start to this journey! Special credit to the instructor for infusing all his lectures with genuine enthusiasm and vigour!

I really enjoyed this course. The instructor and accompanying videos and assignments were clever and innovative. All kept my interest and enthusiasm for understanding and learning. It was especially motivating and a distraction during the "covid" period. I recommend this course to all!

Excellent overview with bite-size explanations that really puts into context some of that fiddly terminology. The lectures are accessible and makes the theory less daunting. Thanks to Douglas Kearney & crew for helping me to see where I can improve to produce better works of poetry.

Thanks a lot Mr Douglas Kearney and California Institute of Arts. I really enjoyed doing this workshop and it inspired me to write poetry. I found the peer-graded assignments to be the best part of the course. I highly recommend this workshop to people interested in poetry.