# Event Details - **Event Name**: Drafting Poems: Poetry Writing Intensive w/ Award-Winning Poet Rick Hilles - **Event Start and End Date**: Sat, 21 Feb, 2026 at 01:00 pm – Sat, 21 Feb, 2026 at 04:00 pm - **Event Description**: A practical poetry intensive focused on fragments, false starts & finding the beginning of a poem, led by Vanderbilt professor Rick Hilles.About this EventMost poems don’t begin as poems. They begin as notes in your phone, half-lines in a notebook, questions you can’t quite shake, or fragments that don’t yet know what they’re becoming.In this three-hour, hands-on poetry intensive, award-winning poet and teacher Rick Hilles will guide participants through the earliest and messiest stages of the writing process: the moment when a poem is just starting to take shape. Through a series of short craft talks, generative prompts, and writing exercises, we’ll explore different ways of beginning — working with fragments, lists, questions, false starts, interruptions, and unfinished thoughts — and how those early materials can grow into fuller drafts.This workshop is designed to be practical, low-pressure, and generative. You’ll experiment with multiple ways of starting poems, look at examples from contemporary poetry, and leave with new drafts, new approaches, and a clearer sense of how your own writing process works. Whether you’re brand new to poetry or returning after a long break, this session is an invitation to let go of perfection, start where you are, and see what happens when you follow the small, surprising beginnings of a poem.No prior workshop experience is required — just curiosity, a willingness to write, and something to write with.The workshop cost is $50 and includes the three-hour session on Saturday, February 21, from 1-4 p.m.ABOUT THE FACILITATOR:Rick Hilles is an award-winning poet and teacher whose work has appeared in Poetry, The Paris Review, The Nation, The New Republic, Missouri Review, and many other leading literary journals. He is the author of Brother Salvage, winner of the Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize, and A Map of the Lost World, a finalist for the Ohioana Book Award.Hilles is a former Stegner Fellow in Poetry at Stanford University and has received numerous honors and fellowships in support of his work. He is currently a professor of literature and creative writing at Vanderbilt University, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in poetry and writing. - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/sarasota/drafting-poems-poetry-writing-intensive-w-award-winning-poet-rick-hilles/100001980670492762 - **Event Categories**: art, literary-art, workshops - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 57.23, max: 57.23, currency: USD ## Event venue details - **city**: Sarasota - **state**: FL - **country**: United States - **location**: Bookstore1Sarasota - **lat**: 27.3360054 - **long**: -82.54159059999999 - **full address**: Bookstore1Sarasota, 117 S. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota, United States ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: Drafting Poems: Poetry Writing Intensive w/ Award-Winning Poet Rick Hilles - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events10/banners/bb37a70920a03a500f735e5ce313932c12999fb7beaeaf1e01a7d50c9f0cc8c6-rimg-w1200-h600-dc25b7e2-gmir.jpg?v=1768517171 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is Drafting Poems: Poetry Writing Intensive w/ Award-Winning Poet Rick Hilles being held? - **A:** Drafting Poems: Poetry Writing Intensive w/ Award-Winning Poet Rick Hilles takes place on Sat, 21 Feb, 2026 at 01:00 pm to Sat, 21 Feb, 2026 at 04:00 pm at Bookstore1Sarasota, 117 S. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota, United States. - **Q**: How much do tickets cost for Drafting Poems: Poetry Writing Intensive w/ Award-Winning Poet Rick Hilles? - **A:** Tickets for Drafting Poems: Poetry Writing Intensive w/ Award-Winning Poet Rick Hilles are priced at USD 57 per person. Here's a full breakdown of available ticket types:Ticket TypePriceAvailabilityPoetry Writing IntensiveUSD 57 + USD 3 fee + USD 4 taxAvailable - **Q**: Who is organizing Drafting Poems: Poetry Writing Intensive w/ Award-Winning Poet Rick Hilles? - **A:** Drafting Poems: Poetry Writing Intensive w/ Award-Winning Poet Rick Hilles is organized by Bookstore1Sarasota. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** Drafting Poems: Poetry Writing Intensive w/ Award-Winning Poet Rick Hilles is ideal for learners, working professionals, and skill-builders looking to gain hands-on knowledge and practical expertise in a focused, interactive setting. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in Sarasota, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. If Drafting Poems: Poetry Writing Intensive w/ Award-Winning Poet Rick Hilles sounds like your kind of event, don't wait - spots fill up fast. ## Structured Data (JSON-LD) ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Event", "name": "Drafting Poems: Poetry Writing Intensive w/ Award-Winning Poet Rick Hilles", "image": "https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events10/banners/bb37a70920a03a500f735e5ce313932c12999fb7beaeaf1e01a7d50c9f0cc8c6-rimg-w1200-h600-dc25b7e2-gmir.jpg?v=1768517171", "startDate": "2026-02-21", "endDate": "2026-02-21", "url": "https://allevents.in/sarasota/drafting-poems-poetry-writing-intensive-w-award-winning-poet-rick-hilles/100001980670492762", "location": { "@type": "Place", "name": "Bookstore1Sarasota", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "117 S. 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