HOW TO READ AND WRITE A POEM

To read a poem well you must have some knowledge of metre.  In the first session, after a thirty-minute review of basic metric concepts, we will read the poem Una mujer me ha envenenado el alma [A Woman Has Poisoned My Soul] by Bécquer, the romance Reyerta [Brawl] by Lorca, and the free verse poem Walking Around by Neruda.  And steps for writing poems will be taught.  In the second session, the students will read their own free verse poem written imitating the themes found in Una mujer me ha envenenado el alma.  In the third session, students will read their own free verse poem written imitating the themes from the romance Reyerta.  In the fourth session, students will read their own romance written imitating the free verse poem Walking around.  In all four sessions, the students' reading of their poems will be corrected.  In good imitations of poems by other authors, the imitating poet also expresses his own experiences, breathing new life into the texts.   Taught by:   Ramón Irigoyen is a writer with a B.A. in Philosophy and Fine Arts (Classic Philology section) from Universidad de Salamanca.  He lived in Athens for three years.  He has been a Spanish language teacer at the Language School at Athens University, and a Latin teacher at Colegio Universitario de La Rioja.  He has been awarded the Play Boy Erotic Tales Prize and was the recipient of the 15th “Antonio Machado” Short Narratives Prize.  Distinctions: Emblem, South Valley University (Qena, Egypt) and Prize for the Ethical Value of Life Work bestowed to him by To Kafeníon ton Ideón in Salamina (Greece).  Silver badge from the International Press Club.  Entry “Irigoyen, Ramón” in the Diccionario Biográfico Español [Spanish Biographical Dictionary] by the Real Academia de la Historia [Spanish Royal Academy of History].
  He is the author of sixteen books of original work – books featuring poetry, narrative, essays, business topics, children's literature...  He has also published fifteen books featuring translations from Ancient and modern Greek – tragedies by Aeschil and Euripides, and poetry by Cavafis, Seferis and Elitis (Seferis and Elitis both having earned the Nobel Prize), as well as works by other poets.  He has collaborated on twenty general information television programs, on the radio (Radio Nacional de España, Cadena SER, Cadena COPE), and on Telemadrid.  His work has been translated to ten languages.  His Poesía reunida (1979-2011), published by Visor, combines the books Cielos e inviernos [Heavens And Winters], Los abanicos del Caudillo [The Chief's Fans], Romancero satírico [Satyrical Collection of Romances], and La mosca en misa [The Fly at Mass].  A few opinions of Ramón Irigoyen's poetry: “A huge poet” (Juan García Hortelano). “The most renewing voice in the latest panorama” (Joaquín Marco, on Cielos e inviernos).
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