Tuition for 2012 will be $675 with on-site meals available for $100. For an additional $555, this conference may be taken as a graduate-level course, earning three credits through Plymouth State University. Each summer The Frost Place Conference on Poetry and Teaching brings together hard-working classroom teachers and highly-skilled poet/teachers to share their experiences of how poetry is most effectively presented in the classroom - not as a fossilized system of literary tropes but as a living art.
"A whole week of honest and stimulating conversation about poetry. . . . Both faculty and participants were unfailingly generous, welcoming, friendly. Critique sessions were highly engaging, insightful, and intelligent."
"The lectures were all extremely interesting, informative and smart."
"A very affirming experience, which calls me back to the work I have to do once I'm home."
"This is an amazing community of writers. I'm always pleased with the generosity of the faculty and the magic of the readings. I was in a state of creative exhaustion when I arrived here, and I will leave renewed. As always I treasure the people I met here. They keep me fed, creatively, throughout the rest of the year."
Conference director Baron Wormser is the author of seven acclaimed collections of poetry and co-author of two influential books on teaching poetry. Baron works widely in schools with students and teachers alike.
Associate director, poet and musician Dawn Potter is the author of two collections of poetry as well as a memoir. Dawn works frequently as a visiting writer in schools.
Over the course of four and one-half days, faculty poets will present specific techniques for teaching poetry including sample exercises and prompts which teachers will be invited to try out and then discuss. Each day will offer sessions devoted to the participants sharing their own teaching ideas - a popular element in prior conferences. In addition, participants will write poetry every afternoon under the guidance of Dawn Potter.
On the first day of the conference Baron Wormser and Dawn Potter will go over the fundamentals of a poetry-based classroom. On Wednesday night, after the faculty poet reading, participants will have a chance to read their poems in the Henry Holt Barn at The Frost Place. On the final full day there will be a session devoted to evaluating student poems and conducting a poetry workshop. The final morning session will give everyone an opportunity to discuss what has been learned and ways to implement new approaches.
"Poets talk about how poems work. Students and teachers can do that, too. That's why we bring poets and teachers together at The Frost Place - so the teachers can hear how poets look at poems."
Baron Wormser, poet and conference director
Applications
Conference applications are reviewed as they are received. Space is limited to ensure ample opportunity for teachers to interact with the faculty poets most effectively. To apply, submit the application form, the application fee (check made out to The Frost Place in the amount of $25) and a brief letter describing your current teaching position, background, and interest in poetry and teaching to:
The Frost Place
PO Box 74
Franconia, NH 03580
Tuition
Tuition will be $675 plus $100 for five lunches and two dinners (optional but recommended).
Graduate Credits
Conference participants earn three graduate level credits through Plymouth State University in New Hampshire for an additional $555. The syllabus for this option is posted here. Contact-hour certification is provided for all who attend.
Accommodations
Reasonably priced lodging can be found close to the conference site. See suggestions here.
P.O. Box 74 , 158 Ridge Road, Franconia, NH 03580
Telephone: (603) 823-5510
