MasterClass Announces U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins To Teach Reading and Writing Poetry

The online learning platform's writing catalogue expands with first poetry class

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Apr 16, 2019, 10:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, April 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- MasterClass, the online education company that enables anyone to learn from the best in the world, announced today that Billy Collins, legendary Poet Laureate of the United States, will host his first-ever online class exclusively available at www.masterclass.com/bc. Students can enroll in the class with unlimited access for a one-time purchase of $90, or subscribe for unlimited access to this class and all new and existing classes through the All-Access Pass for $180 per year.

"Billy's poems engage readers through quirky observations about everyday happenings," said David Rogier, co-founder and CEO of MasterClass. "It's a pleasure to hear Billy teach how accessible and important poetry is while demonstrating how to discover your voice in order to connect with your readers on an emotional level. His MasterClass is as inclusive and inviting as his poetry."

His engaging and award-winning work has appeared in anthologies, textbooks, and a variety of periodicals, including Poetry, American Poetry Review, American Scholar, Harper's, Paris Review, and The New Yorker. Billy served as the U.S. Poet Laureate from 2001-2003 and as the New York State Poet Laureate from 2004-2006. Billy has won the Mark Twain Prize for Humor in Poetry and has received fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation.

"The whole point of writing a poem, is not to express your emotions, it's to make a reader emotional," said Billy Collins. "I want students in my MasterClass to come away with the ability to use poetry as an instrument for discovery. To teach them about being open to influence, inventing a persona and finding a voice that is all their own."

In his MasterClass, Billy will provide a unique look into the fundamentals of poetic composition and how to write a poem, as well as the art and craft of reading poetry that will appeal to aspiring poets and the poetry-curious alike. He'll discuss in detail his own poetry-writing process which includes getting started by scribbling lines on a blank page, crossing out anything that doesn't work, and making a mess of the pages until the finished product appears. Billy will take students through the pleasures of sound and how poems can have a songlike quality of both rhyme and meter. His class will also touch on how to find your own unique voice by studying the voices of other poets who have come before. Students will gain a deeper appreciation of the art form by walking away with tools to become more confident readers and writers of poetry.

MasterClass continues to expand its catalogue into new categories, bringing leading instructors to its engaged base of subscribers. MasterClass provides educational, inspiring, and engaging classes taught by the world's greatest minds. With more than 55 classes that dive into processes, techniques and philosophies, MasterClass helps students progress more rapidly towards their own mastery, explore new passions, and learn new skills. It offers a unique learning experience, including video lessons, interactive exercises, course materials, peer interaction, and more. Students can subscribe for unlimited access to all new and existing classes through the All-Access Pass for $180 per year, or enroll in an individual class for a one-time purchase of $90. The course can be accessed online at www.masterclass.com, the MasterClass mobile app for iOS and Android, and Apple TV.

Embed & view the trailer for Billy Collins MasterClass below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTBy040LmQw&feature=youtu.be

Download stills here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/csn8h8rvs5ahmfk/AADMcaA8CZa0vs3XC18xViUka?dl=0
Courtesy of MasterClass

ABOUT MASTERCLASS
Founded in 2015, MasterClass started with the idea that everyone should have "access to genius." The online education platform provides affordable, engaging, and inspirational online classes taught by world-renowned instructors, making it possible for anyone to learn from the best.

MasterClass's current roster of courses includes:

Business: Howard Schultz (business leadership)

Culinary Arts: Gordon Ramsay (cooking), Alice Waters (home cooking), Thomas Keller (cooking techniques), Wolfgang Puck (cooking), Dominique Ansel (French pastry), James Suckling (wine appreciation)

Film and Television: Werner Herzog (filmmaking), Martin Scorsese (filmmaking), Ron Howard (directing), Spike Lee (filmmaking), Mira Nair (independent filmmaking), Jodie Foster (filmmaking), Ken Burns (documentary filmmaking), Helen Mirren (acting), Samuel L. Jackson (acting), Judd Apatow (comedy), Aaron Sorkin (screenwriting), Shonda Rhimes (writing for television), Natalie Portman (acting), David Lynch (creativity and filmmaking)

Music and Entertainment: Steve Martin (comedy), Christina Aguilera (singing), Usher (performance), Reba McEntire (country music), Herbie Hancock (jazz), Deadmau5 (music production), Armin van Buuren (dance music), Hans Zimmer (film scoring), Tom Morello (electric guitar), Carlos Santana (art and soul of guitar), Timbaland (producing and beatmaking)

Writing: James Patterson (writing), David Mamet (dramatic writing), Judy Blume (writing), Malcolm Gladwell (writing), RL Stine (writing for young audiences), Margaret Atwood (creative writing), Dan Brown (writing thrillers), Neil Gaiman (storytelling), Billy Collins (poetry)

Photography: Annie Leibovitz (photography), Jimmy Chin (adventure photography)

Design and Fashion: Frank Gehry (architecture), Diane von Furstenberg (building a fashion brand), Marc Jacobs (fashion design)

Sports and Games: Serena Williams (tennis), Stephen Curry (shooting, ball-handling, and scoring), Garry Kasparov (chess), Daniel Negreanu (poker)

Politics and Society: Jane Goodall (conservation), Bob Woodward (investigative journalism), Karl Rove and David Axelrod (political campaign strategy), Paul Krugman (economics and society)

Science and Technology: Chris Hadfield (space exploration), Will Wright (game design)

For more information, please visit www.masterclass.com.

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Follow Billy Collins:
Facebook @BillyCollinsPoetry

SOURCE MasterClass