The Poetics of Craquelure: On Hybrid Forms

The Loft

3 December 2026

Thursday, 5-8pm CT
Online

Few of us today could say that our lives have not been shaped by hybridity, and the same might be said of poetic form. This three-hour generative class explores contemporary hybrid forms such as the ghazal-ode, burning haibun, and other invented structures that adapt and transform inherited traditions. Through close reading and writing exercises, we will consider how poets reshape classical forms to create new architectures reflecting our contemporary experience.

Through close reading, discussion, and generative writing exercises, students will explore both the underlying logic of inherited forms and the creative possibilities opened through the merging of forms. We will look at contemporary poets and invented forms including the duplex, the burning haibun, and hybrid ghazal and sonnet variations, potentially engaging with work by poets such as Samyak Shertok, torrin a. greathouse, Zeina Hashem Beck, Winniebell Xinyu Zong, and others.

Designed for poets of all levels interested in hybridity and form, the class encourages students to begin imagining and constructing their own invented poetic structures. By the end of the session, students will leave with new draft material, familiarity with contemporary hybrid forms, and approaches they can apply to their own work. Students need only bring curiosity and attention.