As writers, we are called not to look away from the world—whether it stirs us with awe or confronts us with horror. Our task is to capture it all, in its raw truth and beauty, and bring it to life on the page. In this course, we will explore the art of creating vivid, unflinching imagery that immerses readers in the worlds we create.

In our sessions, we will craft poems and flash prose as we awaken our senses and evoke memories. Our work will serve as a window into the tangible world around us, compelling us (and our readers) to take a long look.

Week 1: Beauty
We will begin by studying works of poets and writers who excel at using vivid imagery. Visual writing prompts will spark our initial drafts, and we will begin the process of bringing our most powerful, beautiful, sensory-rich images to life.

Week 2: Truth
This week, we’ll challenge ourselves to dive even deeper. We will learn how to hold space for the truths in our own lives and the world around us, pushing beyond the surface to expose complexity and depth in our writing. We will learn to lean into vulnerability and create images that resonate long after the page is turned.

Week 3: Workshop 
In our final week, you’ll choose a piece to share with the group, receiving constructive feedback using the Lerman Method. This collaborative approach will allow us to refine and strengthen our work as we reflect on the images we’ve created. Whether it’s a poem or a piece of flash prose, this is your opportunity to receive thoughtful insights and take your writing to its fullest potential.

Meeting Times 

Saturday, May 10: 10:00am- 12:00p.m. Live Zoom Class

Saturday, May 17: 10:00am- 12:00p.m. Live Zoom Class

Saturday, May 24: 10:00am- 12:00p.m. Live Zoom Class

*Instructor will email links to live sessions prior to meeting.

About the Instructor

Amy M. Alvarez is the author of the poetry collection Makeshift Altar (2024) and the co-editor of Essential Voices: A COVID-19 Anthology (2023). Selected as one of 2022’s Best New Poets, her poetry has appeared in Ploughshares, The Missouri Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, Poetry Foundation, Colorado Review, and elsewhere. She has been awarded fellowships from CantoMundo, VONA, Macondo, the Virginia Creative Arts Center, and the Furious Flower Poetry Center. In 2022, she was inducted as an Affrilachian Poet. Amy was born in New York City to Jamaican and Puerto Rican parents. She has taught at high schools in the Bronx, New York, and Boston, Massachusetts, and at West Virginia University. She currently teaches at Boston College.

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