Mining Potatoes in the Dark:
Structure and Surprise in Narrative Poems
Sunday, November 9th, 2025
Poetry • Online • 3pm–6:30pm ET
You are invited to a one-day live online poetry workshop with Rick Barot.
Storytelling is one of the deepest of human urges. It is why we write, and why we have literature and art.
For a reader, reading a poem is a transformative experience in two ways: the reader apprehends the what of the poem (its content, its story) and inhabits the how of the poem (its structure, its form).
In this three-hour craft immersion, we’ll examine how storytelling happens in a number of exemplary poems—how story and structure come into gorgeous dynamic. We will pay especially close attention to structure, what it is, and how it can be flexibly used in poems. Additionally, we’ll look at surprise and the way it intensifies a reader’s sense of illumination.
Our discussion will be in service, of course, to your own poems and the strategies of craft you might bring to them.
The workshop will include a mix of craft instruction, and class discussion. Keep in mind, there will be a break included, so you can have of time to eat, stretch, etc.
Please note, this is a unique opportunity to attend a live workshop with Rick Barot. Space is limited.
For those interested in participating, you’re encouraged to enroll right away.
